A wish for family
by CMXC
Summary: Claire Aschlock is a lonely orphan girl who wishes for a family. So what happens when her guardian, Soltaria summons one from the Star Wars Clone Wars universe? Obviously mayhem when most of them are wandering in the city! Rex/OC pairing. No flames!
1. Wish Granted

**A Wish For Family**

_Brief summary: After being abandoned by her supposed guardian, Claire Aschlock was taken in by a social worker, who is secretly a guardian angel assigned to watch over her. After Claire wished on her 16__th__ birthday for a family, Soltaria attempts to summon one from the universe of Star Wars Clone Wars. Unfortunately the spell got botched and sent most of the summoned characters all over the city. Will Claire be able to return them to their universe?_

xXHiKaRi_ShIrOuXx : Hey everyone! I'm starting this new SW fanfic, and I hope you enjoy it. Please don't put up any flames, and if you have to critic it… Please critic it gently… ^^

Ahsoka: But where have you been for these past months? You haven't touched your fanfic account for a **LONG** time!

xXHiKaRi_ShIrOuXx : Huh? But I had exams, Ashoka. ^^"

Anakin: I thought it was because your work got criticized so badly by others that you became depressed and refused to type another story on again?

xXHiKaRi_ShIrOuXx : -_-"

Obi-wan: Anakin, you just made her depressed. Again.

Anakin: O_O …I thought she said she didn't mind?

Ahsoka: Errrmmm, anyway… xXHiKaRi_ShIrOuXx does not own anything from star wars clone wars and whatever star wars franchise that exists, except her OC in this story- Claire Aschlock. Soltaria Levin belongs to a friend of hers.

Anakin: But it's true! She even deleted all her other ideas and plans for her next update! She thought she was screwed up in writing! Besides, she had good reviews in the end too right?

xXHiKaRi_ShIrOuXx : (Activates light saber) :(

Ahsoka: Master, I think she's only mad at you for reminding her about the bad reviews.

Anakin: Oh crap.

##########

**Chapter 1: Wish granted**

A year ago…

The first thing I remembered was my butt landing with impact onto the concrete ground from the comfy silk seat of a limousine. I winced and glared at the man who was seating next to me. His name was Napoleon McKenzie, but I dubbed him 'Napoodle Kentucky', ever since I found out he absolutely loved French poodles and roast chicken. He was supposed to be my legal guardian since my parents passed away.

Napoleon smirked. "Do you think I had take in a filthy peasant child like you? Your mother was a fool to elope with that poor army boy!"

I gritted my teeth in seething anger. "Don't you dare make fun of my parents, Uncle Napoodle."

"It's Napoleon McKenzie to you, miss!" He snorted. "As of now, you are no concern of mine. Just like that useless sister of mine who married that penniless brute!"

I snapped and lunged at that no-good-for-nothing rich old snob. He screamed in terror as I yanked his expensive leather suit and curly moustache.

"Let go- Ouch- of me! You- Ow- You filthy peasant!"

"Not until you apologize! You jerk!"

"NEVER!!"

The driver was getting worried at the commotion behind him, as the fistfight ensued, followed by slapping and a whole lot of struggling. Soon, I was booted out of the limousine by Napoleon yet again. I turned to face him with a glare.

"You won't get away with this," I hissed.

"Foolish little girl, who would want to help you exact that sort of revenge? It's not like you have any kin who could file a law suit on me!" A maniacal 'Napoodle' laugh echoed from the streets as the silver limousine drove away from me.

And you know what happened next?

The next day, I was found by a social worker, Soltaria Levin, while wandering aimlessly around the streets. It turns out she knew my parents and upon learning about my situation, she marched right down to the police station and filed a lawsuit. No matter how much Napoleon begged, Soltaria was bent on suing him and bringing justice once and for all. Which would of course flush his reputation down the toilet. I was quite amazed at how she could make Napoleon kneel and kiss her feet for mercy. In the end, they made a deal. Soltaria will drop the lawsuit if Napoleon could get them a place to stay.

In just two days, Napoleon got us a new 3-storey white house located in the nice and quiet part of the city.

It's been a year since I began living with Soltaria, who kept me home-schooled and lets me have the fun during the vacation period. She was my best friend.

Now, my 16th birthday approaches…

##########

"Happy Birthday, Claire!" Soltaria squealed in glee with a humongous chocolate cake shoved at my face.

"Thanks Soltaria," I smiled.

"Go on, make a wish!" She excitedly urged.

I laughed and did so, blowing the candles after I made the wish.

"Sooooo what's the wish, Claire Bear?"

"Oh, the usual. Just you and me being a healthy and happy family."

Soltaria eyed me for a while and then sighed. "Claire…"

"Oh hang on! Star Wars Clone Wars is starting now!" I quickly dived for the couch and grabbed the remote, clicking the button to turn the TV on.

Soltaria sighed again and sat beside me as we watched clones take out droids and Ahsoka fighting against Grievous.

"Don't you get tired of watching Star Wars?" Soltaria asked.

I grinned sheepishly. "Nope."

"Claire Bear, escaping into star wars isn't stopping me from knowing your wish."

I stared at Soltaria blankly.

"You miss them don't you?"

I shifted uneasily on my seat as Soltaria brought up the past.

"Your Dad was a hero, Claire. As for you mom…"

"Don't-

"It wasn't your fault that she died. Claire, she was just-

I stormed off to my room upstairs, covering my ears as I yelled, "Some birthday!" I slammed the door to my room shut and crawled onto my bed. My pillow muffled my cries.

##########

Soltaria cleaned up the plates in the kitchen, scrubbing off any dirt found on the shiny pltes.

"Way to mess up one birthday, Soltaria Levin," she muttered to herself.

She looked around secretly and after confirming that Claire had fallen asleep, she placed the plates in the sink and snapped her fingers. Soon, the dishes floated in the air with a violet glow and began cleaning themselves.

Then, her hand phone rang and she picked it up. "Hello?"

"Soltaria! Where is that report on your mortal? I've been waiting for three freakin' hours!" Bailey, her assistant at work, yelled right into her ear.

Soltaria winced at the volume, taking a mental note of lowering her phone volume the next time Bailey called. "Sheesh, don't get yourself tied in a knot, I'll get it done ASAP," She assured nonchalantly.

"You better! Otherwise the boss will have my ass for this! Anyway, how are you doing?"

That's right. Soltaria Levin was no ordinary being. In fact, she is an angel in charge of looking after her mortal, Claire Aschlock, until her time was up. At least, that's her job for now by God.

"I'm guessing something bad happened," Bailey muttered.

"She misses her family, Bailey."

"It can't be helped. All mortals who lost their loved ones get into depression mode whenever they think of them. You're lucky she didn't attempt suicide to join them."

Soltaria flared up. "Don't you dare think of such a thought!"

"Ok, ok, yeesh! You don't have to get all fed up!"

Soltaria held her temples in dismay. "Bailey, I just wish I can do something…"

"Well, you can adopt a kid, but you can't adopt a family," Bailey replied vaguely.

Just then, an idea appeared in Soltaria's mind. She smirked.

"Crap, I just gave you the idea didn't I?"

"Sort of."

"Aw man… I don't like the sound of that," Bailey gulped. "You know that reviving the dead is against the rules right?"

Soltaria headed out of the kitchen and towards the basement. "Bailey, you know that summoning spell we learned back at training classes? Since I can't revive a mortal, and I don't know how…Why not just summon enough people from another universe to make a family for Claire Bear?"

"Are You CRAZY? That's also against the rules! Only worse, with bigger punishments!"

"I know," Soltaria said, "But it's the only way I can cheer poor Claire up."

"Mom was right, I should have taken up office work in another department," Bailey mumbled with much regret.

"No time to waste! See ya later, Bailey!"

"WAIT-

Soltaria hang the home and turned on the lights of the dark and creepy basement. She walked towards the dusty boxes in the corner and opened it. She coughed at the dust blown onto her face and quickly took out an old 'Star Wars The Clone Wars' poster. She smiled.

##########

I woke up with a startle upon hearing a loud 'BOOM' from the basement. I slipped out of my bed uneasily, still clad in my blue kitten patterned pajama shirt and pants. I slowly opened my bedroom door and tiptoed downstairs to source of the noise. As I passed by the kitchen, I noticed a strangel purple sparkle around them.

"Weird…"

The voices were getting louder as I approached the door of the basement and it sounded like there were people… quarreling?

"Why have you brought us here?" A strange yet familiar voice echoed from the dark room.

"Look guys, erm… I'm sorry about this, but right now I'm kind of in need of a favor from you guys."

I gasped, recognizing Soltaria's voice.

"But where are our fellow comrades?" Another strange voice demanded. "And where in the force are we?"

Wait a minute.

"Technically, you're in the basement of my house and as for your comrades, they… aren't here."

"General, should we search the place?" An even more familiar voice asked.

It can't be!!

"If we may? Miss?"

"It's Soltaria, and I assure you, there is no threat in this house."

I slammed open the door and ran down the stairs to confront the intruders.

"Hold it right there!" I ordered, grabbing the nearest weapon I could find: A Baseball bat.

In a flash, I found myself threatened with three light sabers and a blaster. I stared at the clone trooper with blue stripes, the jedi-knights Anakin Skywalker and Obi-wan Kenobi, and finally the jedi padawan, Ahsoka Tano.

I meekly raised my hands and dropped my weapon. "Erm… I surrender?"

It would have been so great to meet them… If only they weren't ready to kill me.

"It seems that you have a threat, Soltaria," Anakin said.

"Nani (What)?" I was flabbergasted.

"Sir, should we apprehend him?" Captain Rex, the clone trooper asked.

Him? He wouldn't be referring to-

I felt my temper rising and without thinking I blurted out, "FOR GOD'S SAKE! I'M A GIRL!"

The SW characters were dumb-founded. Man, I know I didn't have the big boobs and hourglass figure, but come on! The only things I got for looks were short black wispy hair, black big and round eyes and a sort of petite frame.

Soltaria cleared her throat. "Guys, meet my friend, Claire Bear Aschlock."

"Soltaria!"

"I mean, Claire Aschlock," She grinned in an embarrassed way.

The SW characters put down their weapons and I glowered at Soltaria. "What did you do?"

"I thought you would be happy to see them," She innocently replied.

"Happy? **HAPPY?!** You got me freakin' worried! I thought we were under attack by terrorists or something!"

Soltaria nervously scratched the back of her head. "Well, you see, I thought you could use some cheering up, so I tried to conjure a spell to summon these guys who can be your surrogate family."

I stared at her blankly and glowered. "You know you can't replace my dead parents just like that! What are you? A fairy oddparent?"

"No! I'm an angel assigned to watch over you by God and I don't have a wand or wear those cheesy wings and crowns!"

I scoffed, and folded my arms, putting on a 'glare of doom'. "You used your magic to wash the dishes?"

"Yeah, how did you know?" Soltaria asked.

"The purple sparkle was an obvious clue."

"Damn, my spells are still in need of work," She muttered.

I turned to the SW characters and then back to Soltaria. "Ok, I believe and forgive you. Are these the only guys you summoned?"

"Yay! Thanks Claire Bear!" Soltaria hugged me.

"Soltaria!"

"Well…" Soltaria's voice trailed off ominously.

I eyed her suspiciously. "Soltaria…"

"Ok, I may have botched the spell a little and the rest of the characters may be wandering around the streets by now-"

"WHAT? How many characters were you planning on summoning?" I nearly screeched.

"I don't know! Enough to make a family I guess!" She began counting with her fingers. "Maybe five, six, seven-"

"It doesn't have to be that big!"

"But you need to count the uncles, aunts, grandpas…"

"Soltaria! We got to find those characters before they wreck havoc!"

"I know, I know, but shouldn't we deal with the ones here first?" She asked, jabbing a finger over to the four SW characters talking among themselves.

I glanced at them helplessly and slapped my forehead.

"You're lucky this is summer vacation…" I muttered with a hint of malice and dread.

"Don't worry, we'll start tomorrow. I'm going to get punished for this anyway," Soltaria grimaced.

"By God?"

"Who else?"

I turned to the SW characters. "Erm, sorry about earlier, but you guys can stay in our home for the time being until we find a solution for this mess, ok?"

They exchanged glances to each other and nodded.

"I supposed it won't hurt," Obi Wan said.

After a short introduction from the characters, I led them upstairs to the spare bedrooms. Thankfully, there were enough for each of them. Soltaria passed me the extra blankets and pillows, and I gave them a set each. Each of them said their thanks and soon I found myself bidding them goodnight like a mother would do for her kids.

Ok, that was a little stupid, but it all felt like a dream to me. It's not like everyday you get to meet Star Wars characters right? I snuggled into my warm blanket and let sleep take over me.

"Ouch!" I woke up at the yelp of Soltaria from downstairs, who had decided to take the couch and spare Ahsoka her room.

Somehow, I had a feeling that the mayhem was about to begin.

##########

xXHiKaRi_ShIrOuXx : Well, I hope you enjoyed my first chapter and I hope my characters don't sound too mary-sueish. There will be more dialouge and action from the SW chracters in the next few chaps. So see ya later! :)

Anakin: (All bruised up and staggering from injuries) So... much... pain...

Obi Wan: Morale of the story, never get the author angry.

xXHiKaRi_ShIrOuXx : Please review! ^^


	2. The Search begins with shopping!

**Chapter 2: The search begins… with shopping?!**

_Previously: Claire Aschlock has learned of Soltaria's identity and the blunder caused to bring the characters of Star Wars Clone Wars. With 4 characters in tow, Claire and Soltaria must search for the remaining characters before they wreck havoc, or worse…_

xXHiKaRi_ShIrOuXx: Hi again! Thank you for the reviews and welcome to the next chapter of the story! ^^

Rex: Why am I here?

xXHiKaRi_ShIrOuXx: I figured you can do the disclaimer today, since we will be having more characters coming in.

Rex: Really? (Arches brow in suspicion)

xXHiKaRi_ShIrOuXx: You will get more chances of dialogue here, if you do it!

Anakin: Hey! What about me?

xXHiKaRi_ShIrOuXx: (Gets ready light saber)

Anakin: Ok, I'll shut up now.

Rex: sigh… xXHiKaRi_ShIrOuXx does not own anything from star wars clone wars and whatever star wars franchise that exists, except her OC in this story- Claire Aschlock. Soltaria Levin belongs to a friend of hers. Satisfied?

xXHiKaRi_ShIrOuXx: Arigato, Rex! Now, onto the story! ^^

#######

I was having the most pleasant dream of storming through an army of droids and kicking Count Dooku's butt when the sunlight burned at my face. I groaned and turned to the other side, where it was shadier and surprisingly much cooler. I snuggled into my blanket for warmth, sighing in content of the mix of warmth and coolness around my body.

Suddenly, I heard a snore, and then something began breathing at my hair, wrapping its arms around me. I stiffened. Pillows and blankets don't breathe and have arms.

I opened my eyes slowly and held back a scream as I tumbled out of the bed and hit the wooden floor. "Damn it…" I groaned as I held my throbbing head. It took me a few seconds to finally realize that I was no longer in my room.

But if this isn't my room…then…

I turned to the bed and gulped yet again. Oh crap. It was Rex, sleeping without his helmet and snoring away. I had to restrain my urge to scream again in embarrassment and get out of here before he wakes up. Yet, as Rex slept, I couldn't help but take a curious look at him. 'I never noticed how good he looked. Shaved blonde head, nice chiseled face, muscular body and nice eyes-'

My eyes widened and I slapped myself mentally. 'My God! Why am I thinking of such perverted stuff now!' I cursed mentally to the cackling chibi devil in my head. 'Damn it! Stop giving me images!'

Rex soon went grumbling in his sleep as he tried to kick the blanket off him. By then, I couldn't help but giggle at the sight. That was when he began to stir and I quickly tiptoed to the door and rush out of the room, closing the door gently behind me. I felt my face heat up and my heart pounded non-stop.

"What am I going to do?" I groaned. Ever since the SW characters have arrived last night, I had been secretly excited of getting to know them better. But now, I was feeling that I would never get out of this unscathed. Especially when it comes to Rex… who I was AKA my favourite character and (Since Soltaria started teasing me liking him upon his debut into the Star Wars Clone Wars series) NOT my crush.

All of a sudden, a loud 'HOOOOOONK' came from the stairs and I almost jumped up to the ceiling. I could hear footsteps from each room, especially a loud 'thud' from Anakin's room. The four rudely awaken guests burst out of their rooms to see the cause of the commotion and we soon found Soltaria standing at the top of the stairs, fully-dressed and with a portable air horn in her hand.

"Rise and Shine!" She exclaimed cheerfully.

######

Anakin, Ahsoka, Obi Wan and Rex sat around the table groggily while Soltaria prepared breakfast. I sat down next to Ahsoka, dressed in shirt and pants.

"So how did the night go?" I asked.

The four of them groaned simultaneously.

"I couldn't get any sleep from all that snoring last night…" Ahsoka sharply turned to the three men.

Anakin was taken aback. "I do **NOT** snore!"

"Riiiight…" Ahsoka rolled her eyes.

"I didn't recall hearing anything," Obi wan said.

Ahsoka and I stared at Obi Wan in amazement. Either he really slept through that or he had joined in the snoring anthem last night. "What about you Rex?" She asked.

Rex sat nonchalantly and scratched his chin. "It was fine, commander. Although I did smell something funny when I woke up."

I froze up on my seat and secretly took a whiff at my hair.

"Smelled like some kind of fruit, sir… though I'm not sure what it is exactly."

Then I remembered. 'NO! Why did I have to use that peach scented soap last night?!"

"No fair! How come I don't get the nice scented room!" Anakin sulked.

Soltaria soon came to the table with a pot of hot chicken soup. The four SW characters stared at it in curiosity. "What is this, Soltaria?" Obi wan asked.

"Chicken soup! The best food for the soul!" She grinned.

The four SW characters stared at the pot of bubbling yellow soup with even more intrigue. Ahsoka took a spoonful of the soup and tasted the soup. She replied with a satisfied 'Mm-Mm', urging the others to try it. Anakin, Obi-Wan and Rex slurped their spoonfuls of chicken soup and soon their eyes widened with delight. "It's delicious!" as Obi Wan put it.

"Better than the food in the mess hall, ma'am."

"Five out of five stars!"

Soltaria grinned in triumph as the SW characters wolfed down their chicken soup. I simply smacked my forehead at the sheer level of randomness.

"So where are we going to start the search?" I asked.

Everyone paused in deep thought, until Soltaria spoke up while taking a sip of her tea.

"Actually I was thinking of the mall."

I almost sprayed chocolate milk at her face when she uttered those dreadful words. I gave her the 'Are you crazy' look.

"Well we do need to get them some clothes if they need to blend in. Besides, lots of people tend to wind up in a mall to shop or restock. It's a good place to start."

"But how are we going to get there?" Ahsoka asked.

"Yeah, Soltaria, in case you haven't noticed. We don't have a car," I stated flatly.

Soltaria smirked. "That's where you're wrong."

I arched a brow to her as she led everyone out of the house to the vacant garage. Or so I thought it was vacant…

Inside the garage was a huge black Ford 12-passenger van posing in full glory. All we needed to glorify this moment further would be cueing in 'Halleluiah' music and a solo spotlight shining on the vehicle.

"Whoa…" Rex murmured in awe.

"Soltaria, how did you get this van?"

She grinned. "Just a little bargaining magic from an online auction."

"Right…" Somehow, my gut knew that some real magic was involved.

Everyone boarded the van and Soltaria took the driver seat, putting the keys in ignition. I watched her start the van as I took the front passenger seat with unease. "Do you know how to drive this thing?"

"Sure I do!"

I sighed in relief. "Funny though, I never knew that you went to get a driver's license."

"That's because I don't have one."

I felt every muscle of my being stiffened. Obi wan turned to the both of us with a look of concern. "Is there something wrong?"

"Then how the hell do you know how to drive this thing?!"

"Pfft! Who needs those lessons when you can learn it from movies."

I stared at her. "What movies?"

"Oh you know…" She grinned cheekily in her reply. "Like 'The Dukes of Hazzards'."

My face went pale and I turned to the SW characters behind us. "I think it would be wise to strap in your seatbelts now. Unless you want to lose your breakfast along the ride."

"And where are these… 'seatbelts'?" Anakin asked.

Rex, who took a window seat, found it with ease beside him. "It's next to you, Sir."

Everyone soon strapped in, except for Anakin, who had the unfortunate fate of taking the center seat. "Wait a minute! I can't find my-

"Hang on tight, guys! It's going to be a wild ride!"

Soltaria stepped onto the gas pedal hard and the van leapt across the street in full speed. Anakin almost crushed Rex, as the van sharply swerved to the right, before charging forward.

"Sir! You're crushing me!"

"Sorry! Trying to find seatbelt!"

Soltaria swerved to the left and Anakin was sent crushing against Ahsoka.

"Master! Can't-breathe-"

"Snips!"

"Soltaria! You're going way above the speed limit!" I yelled.

"Puh-lease! I'm only going at half of the maximum speed!"

I glanced over at the speed-o-meter of the van. "But it's at 120-now, 140-km per hour!"

"Oh just shut up and let me drive!" Soltaria yelled back.

Just as I thought our impending doom could not get any worse, a fork road appeared. I noticed Soltaria ready to turn to the right, which was not the road we were supposed to take.

"Soltaria! The shopping mall is on the left side!"

"I know! I'm just taking a shortcut."

"BUT THAT'S A ONE-WAY ROAD!"

In a flash, the van was driving in the speed of light against the traffic. The horns of cars whizzing by greeted us with malice and annoyance. Despite the danger, I turned around this time to find Anakin squashed against the clone captain yet again.

"For god's sake! Someone just help put on his seatbelt!" I ordered.

Once Anakin got off Rex, the clone captain quickly proceeded to locating the seatbelt. He grunted as soon as he found it, but when he tried to pull the strap, it refused to budge. "Erm, ma'am, I think it's stuck."

Pissed off, I unbuckled my seat belt and stretched over to Anakin and Rex, putting aside the current peril we were facing.

"Dang it, you just need to-

Without warning, the van swerved and screeched to a halt, throwing me out of my seat and crashing onto Rex. I yelped upon landing on the clone captain, blushing scarlet as my gaze met him. We were caught in an awkward position: His arms holding me around my waist and my face just inches away from his.

Crap. Major humiliation nation moment.

"Are you alright, si-ma'am?" He asked.

I nodded silently, and then shot a glare at Soltaria.

"Aheheh… Red light," She awkwardly pointed out.

After getting off Rex and finally securing Anakin's seatbelt, I returned to the front passenger seat, muttering curses under my breath while buckling my seatbelt. Character or not, I never knew that they were so hard to handle.

"Hey, Rex?"

"Yes, ma'am?"

I smiled, while focusing my gaze at the road ahead. "Thanks for the save."

"No problem, ma'am," he said.

"First of all, don't call me, ma'am. I'm not that old. Just call me, Claire. And second of all, if you dare call me 'sir', I will put you in one of Soltaria's miko maid costumes and force you to parade down the streets of America."

"Hey! Don't insult the greatness of cosplaying!" Soltaria pouted.

Rex stared at me, confused. "What's a miko maid costume?"

I grinned evilly. "Just imagine something girly with frills and ribbons."

Rex remained silent at my threat.

"And it's pink," I added.

I almost cracked up when Rex shuddered with disgust.

"Finally, it's green!" And so the van sped off once more.

"AAAAAHHHHH!"

"We're all going to die!"

"Hang onto the railings!"

"I think I need to hang onto my stomach more!"

##########

After a few near-collisions along the traffic, Soltaria finally parked the van and everyone clamored out of the van.

"LAND! Oh sweet land!" Anakin cried out in joy as he jumped out of the van.

"I can't wait to get my driving license to drive on my own," I muttered darkly, while Soltaria happily stride towards the tall shopping complex in front of us.

Thankfully, the shopping mall wasn't too crowded since it was a weekday. The Star Wars characters looked around the shopping mall with awe and intrigue. Some passer-bys gave them curious looks, and I nudged Soltaria by the elbow.

"So much for blending in…" I whispered sarcastically.

"Don't sweat it, Claire-Bear. If things do get sticky, I'll just use this." Soltaria showed me a glimpse of what looked like a silver stick with a switch.

"What's that?" I asked.

"God asked my assistant Bailey to send it to me. I could use it to wipe out memories and evidence of anything related to the involvement of the characters and us."

"Wow, Just like Men In Black."

Soltaria shook her head with a smile. "I swear you watch too many movies and cartoons. Now let's get to shopping!"

My stomach twisted at the word 'shopping', the one thing that I can never get along with. "Erm… Can I go to the arcade instead?"

"Nope, you need to update your wardrobe."

"Aw come on! Pleeeease, Onee-chan?" I pleaded, putting on my best puppy-eyes and pouty face; my best weapon against Soltaria. Her lips twitched, fighting the urge to squeeze my face.

"Oh alright, here's 20 bucks to squander off," She eventually gave up.

I grinned in victory and took Rex's hand. "Come on, Rex! I'll show you around!"

Rex looked over to the Anakin, who nodded. "I guess a little fun won't kill…" Rex muttered, a little embarrassed at my hand holding his. I laughed and dragged him along to the arcade on the 3rd level.

########

"Come on Ahsoka, try on this hoodie," Soltaria suggested.

Soltaria was trying on a purple hoodie then, and had handed a red one to Ahsoka, who shyly tried it on and turned to Obi Wan. "How do I look, Master Kenobi?"

"I think it suits you well," he said.

Ahsoka lifted the hood over her head and smiled, "I can see why the Separatists are fans of hoods and cloaks now."

"Take your time to look around, I just need to get this shirt to…" Soltaria paused and looked around the shop. "Has anyone seen Anakin?"

Both Obi wan and Ahsoka shook their heads.

"I think he said something about getting a snack," Ahsoka said.

"Oh man, he shouldn't be wandering around like this! He can get lost!"

Soltaria quickly paid the cashier for the clothes and just then, a figure appeared from the distance. She peered closer and her eyes widened. "Wait a second-

In a flash, the figure sped off to the lift and Soltaria gave chase.

"Obi wan! Ahsoka! I think I just found a friend of yours!"

############

"What is this?"

Rex stared at the 'Time Crisis 4' machine in front of him.

"Rex, meet my absolutely favourite game: Time Crisis 4!" I grinned from ear to ear.

Rex lifted the plastic gun and turned to me. I scratched my head, thinking of a simpler way to explain it.

"You know… like a shooting simulation game? Shoot the bad guys, avoid getting killed and win the game?"

Rex stared at the gun and then turned to me.

"Cool."

If he wasn't wearing his helmet, I could bet you that he would be actually smiling.

##########

"Anyone of you know this guy?" Soltaria asked as she and the SW Characters chased the hooded figure up the escalator.

"His presence in the Force is quite familiar," Obi Wan replied. "Unfortunately, I can't seem to identify him."

"Your senses in the Force must have been affected by the arrival into this world."

"Guys! Hoodie just made an dash to a really BIG shop!" Ahsoka pointed out to the figure heading towards the supermarket with a banner of a huge green dinosaur pushing a trolley.

"Oh man… Not Giants 'R' Us!" Soltaria groaned.

As the trio made their way to the supermarket, Soltaria dialed her phone again for Claire, but there was no respond.

Please leave a message after the tone… beep!

"Perhaps she is busy at the arcade?" Obi Wan suggested.

"Oh don't be ridiculous Obi Wan! Claire-Bear is the most responsible girl I have ever met! Right now, I'm sure she's trying to find us!"

#######

"Rex! Soldiers on the left!" I yelled over the noise.

"I'm on it!"

Rex and I were already completing the final stage, shooting down every enemy that tried to kill us.

"Man! For a first-timer at the game, you're good!"

"Part of training, ma'am-

"It's Claire!"

He chuckled. "You're not too shabby on the gun too. If you were a trooper on my squad, you would have been one heck of a gunner."

My ears reddened at the comment and I gunned down the enemies with a new boost of energy. Then the big bad boss appeared.

"Rex, this is the big one…"

"Yeah," He agreed.

"CLAIRE ASCHLOCK!"

I winced as Soltaria shouted in my ear and dragged me away from the game machine.

"But it was the last stage!" I whined. I was a gamer addict, enough said.

"Sheesh! I thought you were the most responsible one!" Soltaria tugged me harder as she spoke with great disbelief. "We just spotted someone who might be a Star Wars character, and I need you identify him when we meet him."

I pulled my arm away from her, and Rex followed me from behind.

"Don't Obi Wan and Ahsoka have their Force power senses to do that?" I asked.

"Unfortunately, Soltaria's summoning spell shorted them out and 'Hoodie' just went into some big shop with a giant reptile on the sign," Ahsoka explained.

My eyes widened. "You don't mean-

"Yup," Soltaria jerked her thumb to the Giants 'R' Us supermarket. The green dinosaur seemed to be smiling cruelly at our misery.

"Brilliant!" I threw my arms in the air. It was then I noticed that someone was missing. " But where's Anakin?"

Soltaria bowed her head in defeat.

"Damn it! It's going to take us forever to find him! This mall is as big as ten mammoth whales I swear!"

"Don't worry, we just need to split up and find them. Obi Wan and I will take care of Anakin. You just stick with Ahsoka and Rex to find Hoodie," Soltaria instructed.

I nodded, growling as I stormed off with Rex and Ahsoka.

"Skyguy is going to be in trouble isn't he."

My teeth mashed together, grinding against each other furiously.

Anakin is so DEAD when I get my hands on him.

#######

Anakin walked around the vast supermarket, staring at the humongous columns of food stored in boxes, cans and bottles. His stomach growled noisily.

"Whoa… guess I better get something to eat," he said.

He was about to reach for the box of cereal when an arm grabbed his shoulder from behind. Anakin turned around and the cloaked stranger placed a finger on his lips.

"Do not be afraid. I'm your ally, Young Skywalker. I'm in need of your help."

The stranger pulled down his hood to reveal light green skin, green tentacles as hair and hazel lidless eyes.

#######

After passing (probably) the 50th column of food, I slouched against the wall and sighed. Rex kept a lookout for us, while Ahsoka was about trying to concentrate her Force power.

"Ahsoka, it's not going to work," I said.

"I know, but I just wanted to try," Ahsoka smiled weakily.

I looked up at the ceiling. "It must be nice to have such cool powers and learn stuff like that."

"Not really, all I do is just train and practice my force skills."

"You get to make friends too right?"

She nodded. "I guess so, along with my other missions and visits to other planets."

I smiled. "You're lucky."

Ahsoka curiously stared at me. "Don't you have any friends?" She asked.

"No, I was home-schooled, so I don't go to the schools like other kids."

"You mean, you never meant anyone else outside your home?"

I tried not to look sad and smiled, but I knew that the tone of my voice gave it away. "Never."

Ahsoka came over to my side and asked, "Do you have any… family?"

I closed my eyes and turned away, speaking softly.

"My Dad died when I was 13. My Mum… her heart failed her."

Ahsoka and Rex turned to me, both quite shocked by my words. I weakily smiled. "The only other kin I have abandoned me, just because I was poor."

"That's not fair," Ahsoka muttered sadly.

"Life's like that, but I do my best with what I got," I chuckled softly despite the sadness in the atmosphere and my heart.

"I won't go down just like that."

Rex stared at me, his body stock still as he heard my words. In a few moments, he walked over to me and placed a firm, but warm hand on my shoulder.

"You know that we're here for you, Claire."

I looked at Rex, my smile unwavering, but my eyes getting teary. "Thank you."

Suddenly, a slice of watermelon slapped onto my face and I turned around to see two figures hiding behind the rows of fruits and vegetables. Boxes of cereal floated out of their shelves mysteriously and flew towards us at lightning speed.

"GET DOWN!" I pushed Rex and Ahsoka down with me onto the floor as the boxes smashed against the wall behind us. Cereal began pelting down on us like rain.

"Looks like 'Hoodie' has an accomplice!"

One of the shelves soon began to titter and the three of us leapt out of the way as the shelf collided with another shelf and started a domino chain-reaction.

"Find cover!" I yelled.

"Hey! You stole my line!"

"Sorry, Rex!"

Soon, assorted fruits, vegetables, frozen meat and even random desserts, were attacking us. Rex managed to find an overturned table and we used it as out shield. "Any ideas?" Rex asked.

I looked over to the food packages spilled over the floor, and smirked.

"Captain, what do you say we fight fire with fire?"

#######

Soltaria and Obi Wan ran back to the Giants 'R' Us supermarket entrance, after their search was unsuccessful.

"I think… huff… I have used up… huff… all of my stamina…" Soltaria panted and wheezed.

Just then, shoppers from the huge supermarket rushed out, screaming and shouting in fear.

"WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!!" One of them screamed while running madly.

Soltaria and Obi Wan shared a short worried glance before heading to the scene of the crime. At the heart of the huge supermarket was a food battle royale. Tomato sauce, cabbages, whip-cream flew across the area from left and right. The entire supermarket was in a mess, with shelves fallen on the floor and food strewn all over the place.

"EAT MARSHMALLOWS, JERKS!"

Soltaria turned to the left to see Claire firing marshmallows at two figures on the right. One of them was Anakin, throwing more boxes of cereals and a couple of carrots and tomatoes.

"Anakin!" Obi Wan shouted.

But his former padawan did not hear him and a cucumber was soon heading towards poor Obi Wan. Soltaria quickly yanked him down and they dove behind a cashier counter. The battle continued.

"We need to get them out of here!" Soltaria whispered.

"Its almost impossible without being hit…" Obi Wan tactfully whispered back.

They peeked from the counter as the food fight intensified.

"Rex! I need a reload!"

"Don't worry! I got you covered!" Rex fired a tube of potato chips and it collided with a cabbage.

"How about some dessert? WITH MORE SUGAR AND-WELL-AND ALL THAT ROTS YOUR TEETH!"

Soltaria and Obi Wan just stared at the epic battle before them. All they needed was that Disney 'All for one and one for All' song for background music and you would have the perfect food fight scene.

"FREEZE!"

And maybe a mall cop too.

The battle went on, despite the over-sized mall cop's order and he took out his baton. He stepped forward into the battle zone, raising his baton and voice.

"I'm warning you…"

In a split second, the mall cop slipped over a banana skin and fell on his back with a yelp. "AAAGGGGHHHH!"

He struggled to stand, but was soon attacked by the assorted food from both sides. Caught in the fray as a whip cream and mustard sauce covered him, the mall cop struggled to bark another order, "I'm ordering you to STOP-

But alas, a chocolate-coated doughnut stuffed into his mouth silenced him.

"EVIL-DOERS! FEAR MY WRATH!"

"NOT IF WE HAVE ANYTHING TO SAY ABOUT THAT!"

A huge watermelon was sent flying towards the mall cop, who soon fell to the ground as the giant fruit slammed the back of his head. It was then the battle finally ended from one side.

########

"Oops," I muttered upon discovering the comatose mall cop.

I noticed one of the figures holding a cabbage when I glared at him.

"Don't even think about it! Mister!" I snapped.

I stared at shock at Anakin, who lowered the cabbage in surprise.

"Claire?"

"Anakin?"

Rex and Ahsoka turned to face their superior in sheer horror.

"Sky guy?"

"Sir?!"

"Snips? Rex?"

"ANAKIN!" I growled and leaped over the table, walking towards him menacingly. "WHERE the HELL have you BEEN?"

"You were the ones after him?" He asked, even more confused.

"Well, duh! We had to find out if he was a Star Wars Character and bring him back home!"

There was silence in the moment as Soltaria and Obi Wan joined us.

"So that's the reason," the stranger finally spoke and pulled his hood down to reveal a green-skinned man with brown eyes.

I gasped, recognizing him. "Master Kit Fisto?"

Everyone turned to me, surprised.

"You know him, Claire?" Ahsoka asked.

"Of course I know him! He appeared in Episode 10: The Lair of General Grievous!" I cried out in excitement.

Soltaria stared at me in shock. "How can you be so sure?"

"I watched that episode five times."

Everyone sweat-dropped anime style and Soltaria squeezed my cheek playfully. "Aw! You really are so kawaii when ever you talk about Star Wars like that!"

"Soltaria!"

"Sorry."

Kit Fisto smiled warmly and we shook hands. "Forgive me, I thought you were working for the Sith."

I arched a brow. "What gave you that idea?"

"Hoods and cloaks are quite a signature choice of clothes for the Sith."

Soltaria and Ahsoka glanced at each other, both grinning in embarrassment.

"Well, at least we found you safe and sound," Obi Wan said.

"Just give me a minute to erase some memories and clear the mess up," Soltaria told us before leaving.

#########

After some cleaning and last minute shopping, we headed out of the mall towards out van.

"By the way, Master Fisto, you might want to put on your seatbelt before the vehicles moves," Anakin muttered to him. "The driver can be quite reckless…"

"Speak for yourself!" Soltaria yelled from the distance.

I couldn't help but laugh and Rex stared at me for a while.

I paused and blinked. "Is there something on my face?"

"No, it's just that erm…" Rex paused. He seemed to be struggling for the right words.

"Thanks for showing me some fun."

He looked away, and I couldn't help but smile. "No, problem."

"CLAIRE-BEAR!" I was suddenly glomped by Soltaria.

"Ack! What is it?!" I pushed her off me while gasping for air.

"I just remembered that your shower foam ran out, so I got some new ones for you." She took out a pale orange bottle from a plastic bag.

"Yours is that fruity peach-scented one, right?"

I halted on my tracks as Rex froze beside me and turned to see the bottle.

"You mean that smell was…

My face flushed red and I dashed towards the van at full speed.

CRAP! WHY MUST THIS HAPPEN TO MEEEEEEE……

########

Soltaria smiled to herself and kept the bottle away. Obi Wan turned to her as Claire jumped into the van without hesitation.

"What happened to her?" He asked.

Soltaria shrugged. "She freaked out when I guessed that she sleep-walked to Rex's room."

"Oh."

########

xXHiKaRi_ShIrOuXx: That's chapter 2 for you! Be sure to review it and not flame it! WOW! I typed this out until 12.23 am!

Soltaria: And you don't get tired?

xXHiKaRi_ShIrOuXx: Nope!

Soltaria: You must have drunk lots of coffee for that.

Rex: I don't think she did. Just look at those black circles around her eyes.

xXHiKaRi_ShIrOuXx: Look out for Chapter 3! :)


	3. Convention Mayhem

**Chapter 3: Convention mayhem**

_Previously: While shopping and hitting the arcades, the gang discovers a SW character on the loose in the mall. After lots of running and a massive food fight in a supermarket, Kit Fisto was finally recovered from the chaos…_

xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: So who do you think will appear today?

Soltaria: I have absolutely no clue.

Claire: But you watched all of the SW episodes with me!

Soltaria: (Nevrously looks away and stutter) W-We-Well… I well, erm, Ah-

xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: You fell asleep while watching them, didn't you…

Soltaria: No! I do watch them! I just…well… didn't concentrate so much.

Claire: O_O

xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: Erm, can anyone else do the disclaimer?

Obi Wan: I'll do it. xXHiKaRi_ShIrOuXx does not own anything from star wars clone wars and whatever star wars franchise that exists, except her OC in this story- Claire Aschlock.

Anakin: Master, don't forget that Soltaria Levin belongs to a friend of hers.

Claire: Soltaria! I thought you said you liked Star Wars the Clone Wars too!

Soltaria: But not that much!

Claire: How can you insult the greatness of Star Wars?!

Obi wan and Anakin: (Staying out of the argument) Star Wars?

xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: Will everyone just shut up and let the readers get on with the story?!

Everyone: … OxO

xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: Thank you! Now Readers review and enjoy. No flames!

#########

Today wasn't exactly the greatest day.

The home, which I resided in alone, was slowly becoming a zoo for the Star Wars characters. With Soltaria as my reckless yet protective guardian and best friend, and SW characters who do not have the slightest clue of America, the days we spent together seemed to have become more hectic. So far, Soltaria and I managed to convince Kit Fisto to stay with us and he was currently bunking in with Obi Wan. I soon realized that with more characters coming in, there is definitely going to be a whole lot of rearranging for where the characters rest in.

But worse of all, I have to deal Rex, who I repeat is **not my crush**. Ever since he found out that I sleepwalked into his room, no thanks to Soltaria's big mouth, there's this stupid awkward tension between us. Although I had apologized to him many times upon our return from the Mall, I can't help but feel nervous around him. Rex may be back to normal after the cat got out of the bag, but I'm still stuttering and blushing around him.

Damn it! What is this, some kind of school girl crush?!

########

"What's up with Claire? She's been acting strange since yesterday," Ahsoka asked Soltaria, as Claire began hitting a head against a pink cushion from the couch.

Soltaria yanked the cushion from Claire and slapped her cheeks with both hands.

"OW! What was that for?" She cried out in pain, rubbing her reddened cheeks.

"Self-abuse isn't going to help relieve stress, Claire-Bear. Have you finished the Chemistry homework I gave you?"

Claire groaned. "But it's a Sunday…"

"This may be summer vacation, but you still need to do your homework."

"Wow, she's acting more responsible today…" Claire muttered under her breath.

"To your room! Now!"

She groaned even louder and dragged her feet upstairs like a zombie. By then, Obi wan and Kit Fisto were heading down towards the table for lunch.

"Why does the youngling look so tired?" Kit asked.

Soltaria handed out plates as she explained, "Apparently, lessons have been causing her to stress out."

"Ah, it is her training then?"

"I guess you can call it that," Soltaria smirked to herself.

"What kind of training did you put her through?" Obi Wan asked.

Soltaria handed him a plate of chicken and lettuce. "With books, computers and, well, more books."

Ahsoka swallowed a gulp of her water. "No wonder she gets bored so easily."

"What?!"

"No offense Soltaria, but Ahsoka has a point. Training isn't based on reading alone," Anakin explained.

"Since when did you become so smart, Ani?" Soltaria teased sarcastically.

"He does have a point."

"Same here," Obi Wan agreed with Kit.

"But Claire isn't training to be a Jedi! She's just learning so that she can get a job to earn money and support herself."

"We can spare some credits-

"We don't accept that kind of money here!"

Ahsoka sighed. "Why not just try something hands on for a change? I mean Master always teach me by showing how to perform Jedi force tricks and use a light saber."

"Too bad her education does not require blowing stuff up…" Soltaria flipped through the newspaper mindlessly.

"How about trying a different approach to the matter?" Obi Wan suggested, sipping his drink. "By the way, what is this drink?"

"Oh that? That's just my special…" Soltaria's eyes widened at the cup with a purple bunny painted on it. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"What's the matter?"

"That's MY cup!" Soltaria leapt from her seat and pounced on Obi Wan, who fell off his seat while attempting to avoid Soltaria's fingernails of death.

"GIMME THE CUP!"

"Ack-Ack-AAAck-ACK!" Obi Wan choked, his face was turning to a nasty shade of blue as Soltaria's fingers wringed around his neck tightly.

"Let go of him, you witch!" Anakin yelled and pulled out his light saber.

"ACK-ACK-AAAAAACCCCKKKK!" Obi Wan's arms flapped non-stop.

"Not until he gives me back my cup!"

Kit Fisto picked up the newspaper and arched a brow. "What is this Discover Science Center?"

In a flash, everyone stopped and Soltaria snatched the newspaper from Kit and released her grip on Obi Wan.

"AIR!" Obi Wan breathed and averted his gaze to the dreadful cup, quickly dropping it in terror.

Soltaria's eyes beamed as a brilliant idea formed in her mind.

###########

"Stupid science homework… chemistry… biology…" I grumbled, stomping towards my room when I bumped into something hard. "OW! Watch it!"

"Sorry."

I looked up to see Rex. "Oh, hey Rex…" My voice trailed off as I wondered what to say next. 'DAMN IT! Why does he have such a cool armor, nice voice and body!' My inner self yelled.

I stood still under the uncomfortable silence, but Rex cleared his throat and asked, "So do you have any plans… Claire?" His voice sounded awkward at pronouncing my name.

It was as if his voice cleared all the tension and strange warmth settled inside me. Soon, my inner chibi self was swooning like a lovesick idiot. 'Sigh… He said my name...' I blushed furiously and mentally slapped my inner chibi self. 'HELLO! WAKE UP AND STOP OOGLING AT HIM!'

"Erm, Claire, your face is getting red," Rex paused as he noticed something peculiar. "Is that steam rising from your ears?"

I bit my lip in surprise and shook my head furiously. "No, no, no! I was just pissed off because Soltaria landed me with a lot of homework to do."

"Home work?" Rex arched a brow.

I stared at him dumbfounded, until I remembered that Clone Troopers never do Homework. Lucky Dude.

"Just some work and studying," I replied.

He stared at me blankly.

"You know, like training? Except its more of brain training?"

Rex continued to stare at me blankly. I sighed and went to my room, rummaging through my shelves and took out my green chemistry workbook.

"**This** is my homework." I flipped the book to show some of the pages in it. "You technically fill in the blanks with your answer, and then check if it is right or wrong. It's supposed to help you learn in your studies and improve."

Rex peered at the book with much distaste. "That's so boring."

"Welcome to school on planet Earth," I smiled. "Trust me, I had rather blast them to bits than learn from them. It's just too bad I need it to get a job when I get older and support Soltaria and myself."

Rex gazed at me curiously as I laughed to myself. "We only have each other, so I can't just sit around and do nothing, right?"

His gave never wavered and I began to feel a little confused.

"Claire-"

"CLAIRE-BEAR! PACK YOUR STUFF AND HEAD DOWN NOW! WE'RE GOING OUT!" Soltaria yelled from downstairs.

I cringed and ran to the stairs, yelling back, "WHERE?"

"To the exhibits at the DISCOVER SCIENCE CENTER!"

I groaned and grumbled to myself, then turned to Rex with a smile. "Sorry Rex, tell me later, ok?"

I ran to get my stuff from my room, unaware of Rex's unwavering gaze.

##########

"Are you sure you don't want me to drive you there?" Soltaria asked.

"After the last time, I think I'll take a bus. Even though I don't like this trip, I guess you'll force me to go anyway. Besides…" I smirked. "…Someone has to take care of the characters."

I tied my shoelaces and put on my blue hoodie, before bidding her goodbye. "See you later then."

I dashed off to the bus stop around the corner, while Soltaria just stood still in the background, yelling, "What am I? A babysitter?!"

##########

Rex watched Claire run off from the window in his room. He punched the wall, feeling frustrated. "Damn it," He cursed under his breath.

"What's up Rex?"

He flinched and whipped around to find the Padawan leaning against the doorframe.

"Nothing, kid."

"Aw come on Rex!" She skipped over to the bed and sat beside him. "It's really obvious that you like Claire."

"No, I don't."

"Sure you do!" She grinned. "It's written all over you."

Rex grumbled to himself softly, as Ahsoka folded her arms. "Rex, don't make me use the Jedi mind trick on you."

Defeated (And not wanting his brain to turn into mush), he sighed. "Even if I did like her, we can't be together. I'm a clone and she's a… a…"

"A girl who stole your heart?" Ahsoka grinned from ear to ear.

He hid his embarrassment behind the helmet.

"Aw! So you do like her!" She playfully nudged him with her elbow. "So what's stopping you, big guy?"

Rex gazed down to the floor. "The thing is… She's not from our world, kid. One day, Soltaria will send us back home, and she can't follow us there."

Ahsoka watched the clone commander sigh sadly. "Besides, it will never work out. I'm a clone and she's… human."

The two of them sat still for a moment, until a piercing scream echoed from downstairs.

"What in the name of the Force was that?" Ahsoka asked.

Everyone rushed down to find Soltaria hyperventilating at the newspaper. She turned to Kit sharply, shoving a page of the newspaper at his face. "Why didn't you tell me that there is a STAR WARS convention at the Discover Science Center too?!"

"I-I-I didn't know," Kit stuttered.

"What do you mean you didn't know? It's just posted right next to the promotion of the science exhibition!"

"I-I-It was?"

Soltaria grumbled. "Never mind! Everyone get on board the van!"

Everyone froze up in the room, and Soltaria gave a blank look of disbelief. "Not you guys too!"

###########

"I can't believe Soltaria didn't tell me of the convention next door," I muttered under my breath while staring at the bubbling chemicals in rows of conical flasks and test tubes at the exhibits. Models of chemistry processes and body systems were everywhere, along with numerous science-fans, nerds and interested passer-bys.

"Well, at least the bus ride wasn't so terrible…" I giggled to myself softly.

I walked down the aisle and suddenly felt a hand on my shoulder. I whipped around and to come face to face with a clone trooper with yellow stripes.

"Excuse me, ma'am…"

"KYAAAAAAAHH!" I shrieked and punched him square on the helmet.

The clone trooper yelped and fell on his butt on the polished floor. Some people turned to see the commotion and I finally realized what I did.

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry!" I apologized profusely, helping the man up to his feet.

"Ow… that was one heck of a punch."

"I'm so sorry," I apologized again, my voice full of worry and concern.

"Its alright," He said. "Have you seen a huge droid with a cape running around?"

I thought for a while before replying, "You mean like General Grievous?"

"Yes, ma'am."

I pointed to the exit. "Your friend is probably in the Star Wars Convention. Just take the exit and walk straight into the room to the right."

The clone trooper gave a small salute. "Thanks ma'am."

He ran off with a blaster in his hand and I shrugged. "Wow, people really can get into character these days."

After looking through dozens of exhibits, I walked out of the exhibition room, feeling quite tired and exhausted. Taking one final glance at the Star Wars Convention banner displayed outside, I couldn't help but wonder, "Maybe I can just take a peek…"

I scurried over to the sliding glass door when all of a sudden, I heard the sound of rubber tyres screeching against the road outside.

"!" I heard someone scream from the van.

There was a loud crash and I rushed out of the Discover Science Center to see the van parked next to the lamppost and a badly crushed red Honda car next to it. 'What the Hell?' I thought.

"MY CAR! Oh the HUMANITY!" I saw the owner of the destroyed car rushed over to lament at its state.

The doors of the van slide open and out came Soltaria and the SW characters.

"CLAIRE-BEAR!" Soltaria cried out and ran towards me.

"Oh crap."

She tackled me down to the ground with a massive hug and squeezed my cheeks. "You didn't go to that Star Wars Convention next door did you?"

"Of course not, and can you PLEASE stop squeezing my damn cheeks?" I replied painfully. 'I was so close!' My inner chibi self ran about in my head, yelling curses to the heavens.

Soon, Soltaria's hand phone rang and she picked it up.

"Hello?" Soltaria let go of me and listened to the caller's message. "What? Here? But how did you- and how am I supposed to… Oh…"

I stood up and brushed the dust off my pants and walked over to the characters.

"You guys alright?" I asked.

Anakin grabbed me by the collar and begged, "Next time, take us with you on that 'Bus'!"

"It wasn't that terrible…" Kit said.

Everyone stared at him in shock. "Excuse me, Master Fisto, but we almost got ourselves killed riding with that psycho on the wheel!" Anakin hissed.

I slapped my forehead. "For the love of all that's sweet and sane…"

Soltaria put down her phone and Anakin let go of my collar.

"Ok, I got good news and bad news," She smiled nervously. "The good news is that my assistant, Bailey informed me that one of Rex's friends is here."

Rex's head jerk up. "You mean Cody?"

I stiffened upon remembering meeting a clone trooper with yellow stripes.

"Yeah, but the bad news is that one of the bad guys is here too."

The Jedi activated their light sabers. "Who is it?" Ahsoka growled.

"Not sure, some guy who works for the Sith. Claire, you know him. That robot dude?"

'SHIT! DOUBLE SHIT!' My inner chibi self jumped around in a panicky state.

"How did Bailey know?" I asked.

"Actually, she said that we could track these guys down with this." Soltaria took out the silver pen-like memory eraser. "It's supposed to light up and beep when one of them is nearby."

"Then why didn't it work before?" Obi Wan asked.

Soltaria flipped a small switch behind the device and it soon beeped and light up. We glared at Soltaria who chuckled nervously. "Left it off."

I felt anger and fear rising inside me. Cody was in trouble and it was my fault! My hands balled up into a fist as my body shook uncontrollably.

"…Claire?" Rex concerned, placed a hand on my shoulder, but I felt so shocked that I sent a flying punch at his face. "KYAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" I shrieked.

In a flash, Rex was sent pummeling to the ground and I gasped. "Augh…" He groaned.

'REX! Oh my God! I'm so freakin' sorry!" I cried and quickly pulled him up to his feet. "This is all my fault! First him, then you!"

Everyone stared quizzically at me. "Him?"

I took a deep breath.

"'tknowhewastherealdealandnowit''sdenand-"

"Whoa, whoa, Claire slow down!" Rex held me by the shoulders and I calmed down with another deep breath. "Now what happened?"

"Oh man! They must be in the Star Wars Convention by now! We gotta stop them! Come on!" I dragged him back into the Discover Science Center and the others followed me from behind.

"This is bad! If they're really in there, we're going to have a tough time finding them," Soltaria grimaced.

"It can't be that difficult to find an over-sized tin can and Cody," Anakin skeptically remarked as the glass door slide open.

Cosplayers in SW costumes roamed around the vast room of Star Wars franchises, props and exhibits. There were clone troopers, Jedi Knights, Darth Vaders and even some of them dressed as Padme and Yoda.

"What in the name of the Force is this?" Kit gape in awe.

"Gentlemen, welcome to the Star Wars Convention," I proudly announced.

"Claire-Bear! Remember the mission!" Soltaria reminded me sternly.

"Oh all right," I sighed and snapped my fingers in front of everyone.

"I know you may recognize some of them as your friends, but trust me, they are not who you think they are. This isn't your world, so whatever you do don't-"

"Padme? How did you get pregnant again?"

We turned around to see Anakin grabbing the arm of a woman dressed as pregnant Padme.

"Don't tell me you cheated on me all this while!" He cried.

"Let go of me you asshole!" The woman rebuked and kicked him square on his weak spot. Anakin gasped and fell to the ground in pain. "Padme… Why?"

The woman ran off and Obi Wan helped him up. "Anakin, are you alright?"

"Padme, she-she-"

I whacked him on the head and turned his face to see the numerous girls dressed as Padme.

"There're… more Padmes?" His jaw hit the ground in aghast, before he fainted from the shock. Ahsoka rushed to his side and shook him by the shoulders. "No! Sky Guy, pull yourself together!"

"Snips, you must… find the real Padme and avenge me…" His words slurred as he closed his eyes.

"NOO! MASTER!"

"Anakin!"

I slapped my face from the sheer stupidity displayed right before my eyes.

"Great. This is why I said not to be fooled by their appearances!"

Soltaria patted Obi Wan and Ahsoka on the shoulders. "He'll live. Right now, we need to find Cody and General… erm…"

"Grievous," I corrected.

Rex looked over at the mass of cosplayers. "It won't do us good with so many of these people here."

"Which is why you guys just need to stay here and look for them, while Soltaria and I will take care of that."

"We? But how?" Soltaria asked.

I looked up to the PA room above and the door to the stairs. I smiled.

##########

"I can't believe we just bribed the PA dude with 50 bucks for the use of this room…"

Soltaria took hold of the mike and glanced at me.

"Just do it," I said.

"Erm… Attention, attention please. There is a meeting for the science exhibits now and everyone must evacuate out of this room immediately…" Soltaria nervously spoke with much less confidence.

The people below us just stood still and went back to their nonsensical chatter. I shoved her out of the seat and took the mike. "Give me that."

I cleared my throat. "ATTENTION! There is a gas leak from one of the exhibits here and everyone must evacuate **NOW**! So please exit in an orderly and efficient fashion. Thank you!"

After a few moments of silence, everyone started screaming and rushed out of the room within seconds. I smiled in triumph as the plan proceeded with ease. Soltaria and I headed to the stairs and ran down to the now empty convention room.

"Any ideas on how to take down General Grieviouso?"

"Grievous," I corrected again. "And who said 'we' have to take him down?"

"What about you?" Soltaria asked.

We eventually reached the room and met up with the SW characters. "I need to get something to deal with Mr. Big & Scary. That's why I need you guys to stall him until I get it," I explained. "Can you guys hold him off?"

"No problem," They agreed.

I turned to Rex. "Be careful."

He nodded. "You too."

"What about me? I don't have a weapon!" Soltaria exclaimed.

I turned to Soltaria and grinned. "Easy, just watch out for his sharp mechanical claws and many light sabers ready to fry your butt."

A howl soon echoed from the distance and The SW characters readied their weapons. Soltaria slowly turned to face me, but I was already on my way to the science exhibition next door.

"You better come back and help! Otherwise I'll personally burn all of your SW comics and DVDs!" She yelled.

I cringed at her shrill warning and barged into the Science Exhibitions. But to my horror, I found that most of the cosplayers were hiding in the very room I have entered. It was impossible to squeeze through as the sea of cosplayers pushed against each other. My eyes darted around and I saw a hand waving the air.

"Help…" I recognized it as Commander Cody's voice.

"Oh man, hang on Cody!" I pushed through the crowd of numerous cosplayers, squirming, budging and shoving towards Cody, who was trapped in the mass of freaked out costumed souls. My body was squashed between a huge wookie and a clone trooper.

"Damn it…" I gasped. At that moment, a whiff of a pungent smell floated towards my nose. The source of the smell, which is a table of conical flasks, caught my attention. Short glimpses of the contents under the table revealed goggles, gloves, lab coats and masks.

#########

General Grievous unleashed a loud roar as he swung the deadly light saber down to the ground, missing Ahsoka by an inch. Anakin and Ahsoka clashed their light sabers against General Grievous's dual ones. Rex shot the droid general with his blaster and later aimed it at the droids hiding in the shadows. Kit Fisto sliced the droids with ease, as their broken remains land on the ground.

"That seemed a little too easy," Kit said.

"Yeah, usually the clankers will fire back at us," Rex murmured after shooting down the last droid.

Soltaria dodged the light sabers as they smashed the glass panels to smithereens and duck behind a pillar. She picked up the remains of the droid.

"Maybe its because they are nothing but cardboard CUT-OUTS!" She yelled at them. "They're fakes, you idiots!"

More glass panels were smashed and displayed props and decorated weapons fell to the ground. General Grievous let out a snarl and jabbed one of his light sabers forward at Obi Wan, who dodged it with ease and hurried to Soltaria's side. He lifted a cut out of Yoda with the Force.

"Forgive me, Master Yoda," He muttered, and sent the cardboard flying towards Grievous' head.

Grievous roared and Anakin took the opportunity to slice one of his legs off. The General fell with a loud 'THUD' and coughed in annoyance.

"We did it!"

Unfortunately, Grievous managed to slowly get up on one foot and unsheathed his second pair of arms. Each of them picked up a light saber and he cackled.

"More arms?" Soltaria gasped in disbelief and dread. "Obi Wan! Go take down Grievuke now!"

Grievous glared at Soltaria, who had jumped out of her hiding place in sheer enthusiasm. "Holy Maloney," She gulped.

"Its GRIEVOUS! YOU BUFFOON!" He roared and charged towards her at full speed.

Soltaria ran away and Grievous, who chased after her like a rampaging bull, shoved the SW characters aside like bowling pins.

"HEEEEEELLLLPPPPPP MMEEEE!!" She screamed.

Soltaria tripped and fell onto the floor. She felt something sharp dig into her shirt and gasped as Grievous lifted her up in the air.

"It's over, foolish child," He hissed.

Sweat poured around her face and she squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for impact. 'Sorry… Claire…' Grievous raised one of his light sabers and swung it down.

"SOLTARIA!"

WHACK!

"OW!" She cried out, but felt no blood or searing burns upon the hard impact. All she remembered was something plastic hitting her on her right shoulder.

Wait a minute… Plastic?!

Soltaria opened her eyes wide as she heard an enraged Grievous yelling upon discovering that his light sabers were a fake. "What happened to my light sabers?!"

Anakin smirked. "Hah! Looks like we have the upper hand, Grievous."

He activated his light saber, but instead of the usual blue glowing sword, a plastic translucent blue rod shot out from the light saber.

"What the Force?"

Kit tried to activate his, but a green plastic rod shot out. It was the same for Ahsoka and Obi Wan. Even Rex's blasters shot only plastic bullets at Grievous.

"Where are our weapons?"

Soltaria looked down to the floor and her eyes widened. Everyone noticed her reaction and followed her gaze to the numerous light sabers and blasters scattered around the floor.

"We must have lost them when we got knocked down by Grievous," Ahsoka said.

Anakin threw aside the fake light saber, and went on to find his original one. "Terrific, it's going to take us forever!"

Grievous tossed Soltaria aside and Obi Wan caught her before she collided with the marble floor. "Are you alright?" He asked.

She nodded and everyone began searching for his or her weapons among the mess.

##########

'FINALLY!'

After much pushing and squeezing through, I was pushed out of the crowd and landed in front of the table of chemicals. With not much time to lose, I grabbed a lab coat, a pair of gloves, a pair of goggles and a mask. My eyes darted around the various chemicals displayed, secretly slipping in a small bottle of chemical solution into the coat pocket. Finally, I grabbed the partially sealed conical flask with the label: AMMONIA, written across it. I peeled the seal off the mouth of the conical flask and held it out to the crowd. Sure enough, the pungent smell of Ammonia caused the people to make noises of disgust.

"AW MAN! THAT'S NASTY!"

"GROSS!"

"Clear the way! Disposal of Chemical Waste coming through!" I ordered.

The crowd dispersed like the Red Sea with Moses, and I walked towards where Cody was supposedly trapped. The ammonia drove the cosplayers away, forming a path to Cody, who was freed from the suffocation among the crowd.

'For once, Soltaria's science lessons do work!' I thought as I walked towards Cody. "Are you alright, Commander Cody?"

Cody gave a nod and with a little help of stinky ammonia, we got out of the Science Exhibition. I threw away the blasted flask of ammonia and tore my mask off me, taking a sharp intake of air.

"Thanks," Cody huffed, upon recognizing me from our last meeting.

"No problemo," I panted. "I assume you're still looking for Grievous?"

We made our way to the Star Wars Convention room. To our surprise, Soltaria was attempting to beat Grievous up with a fake purple light saber.

"Take that! And that! And that!" She yelled as she whacked Grievous again and again.

Grievous just grunted in annoyance as he searched through the pile of light sabers, not even flinching from Soltaria's barrage of attacks. The SW characters were looking through the pile around them, but to no avail have they found their weapons. 'I'm not even going to ask what happened…'

Rex was checking the blasters by shooting a bullet from each gun at Grievous.

"No." He said after firing a plastic bullet. He tried another one, but it fired another plastic bullet at Grievous, who twitched and grumbled. "Not that either."

I grabbed Cody's hand and ran over to Rex. "What the- WHOA!"

"Rex!" I called.

He jerked and turned to meet my gaze. "Claire! You're alright-"

He paused in mid-sentence when he saw Cody, who gave a wave. "Cody!"

He gave him a firm pat on the shoulder, and then noticed me holding his hand. I blushed and quickly pulled my hand away from his. "Sorry," I meekly mumbled.

"Claire-Bear! Thank goodness! Help me finish Griepuke off!"

Grievous pried Soltaria off from his back and snarled at her. "It's Grievous! GRIEVOUS YOU BUFFOON!"

I swiftly ran towards the pile of light sabers and grabbed one.

"Let her go!" I activated the light saber in my hand and it slashed through Grievous' metallic arm.

The droid general howled as Soltaria landed onto the ground and pried the murderous claw off her. "Yuck!" She spat.

I stared at the blue light saber before me as the others rushed to our side.

"How did you know that was the real one?" Anakin asked.

I deactivated the light saber and handed it to him with a smile. "Your name was written on it."

Sure enough, everyone peered at his light saber. The markings on it said: ANAKIN SKYWALKER. YOU TOUCH IT, YOU DIE.

"Unbelievable…" Obi Wan slapped his forehead.

"Master Fisto! Master Kenobi! I think I found your light sabers!" Ahsoka said and handed them to their respective owners.

Grievous growled menacingly at us. I took a step forward, but Rex's hand was firmly placed on my shoulder. "Careful, he's a tough one."

"Don't worry, I got it all planned."

I stepped towards Grievous, who had finally found his light sabers and growled, "What do you want, child?"

I slipped my hand into my lab coat pocket. "Oh nothing, I was just hoping I could get your autograph."

Everyone behind me stared at me in disbelief and shock.

"Oh for God's sake!" I heard Soltaria moan.

I rolled my eyes, ignoring their remarks.

"Hah! Why should I listen to you child?" He laughed, before getting in to coughing fit.

"Well, I just so happen to know how to return you to your world."

His eyes widened.

"Now about that autograph…"

Within seconds, Grievous pushed me down against the floor, with his dual light sabers threatening to slice my head off.

"CLAIRE!"

Grievous leaned closer to me, his amber eyes narrowing at my own eyes. "I order you to take me back to my world, or I'll destroy your puny existence."

"The thing is, that we'll require you to stay with us until we can find the rest of the characters, otherwise we won't be able to send you back," I replied nonchalantly.

Grievous placed the light sabers even closer to my neck, so close that I could feel its heat burning the flesh around my neck.

"I don't care! Send me back now, or I'll kill your friends too!"

I sighed. "So much for the nice way."

I took out the small bottle I swiped from earlier and pulled the cap off it's mouth.

"What are you doing, you foolish child?" He asked darkly.

I smirked and dripped some of the contents on his metal feet. In a moment, his feet was slowly disappearing, acid ate its way through the metal.

"AAAIIIIEEEEEE!" He howled and pulled his light saber away from me as he stumbled back and fell on his metallic butt. The general cut off his own leg and watched in horror as the metal was devoured and soon left nothing in that very space.

"What did you do?!" He roared.

I held out the bottle containing the solution with a label on it.

"Meet my friend: Concentrated Hydrochloric Acid!" I grinned proudly. "This baby can corrode its way through most metal and… well anything from what I learned from the science exhibitions."

Soltaria let out a sniffle and Ahsoka stared at her in a quizzically way. "Are you crying?"

"Sniff… I'm just so proud that my Claire-Bear has finally grown up!" She sniffed.

Grievous snarled at me. "I'll never…"

I splashed more acid onto his other arm and he scream again, before hacking the arm off.

"You know, I can just do this aaaaaallllll day," I yawned. "Until there's nothing left of you."

Grievous grunted and I sighed. "I don't like it this way either. So can we just call in a truce to help you guys get back home?"

I shook the bottle a little at Grievous' face. "Or would you like to play with Mr. Corrosive Acid again?"

Grievous paused for a few seconds and I was ready to give him another dose of acid when he blurted out, "Fine! I'll come with you and help you find the others!"

I smiled and threw the bottle away into the nearest dustbin. "Soltaria, can you fix him up?"

Soltaria looked flabbergasted. "After all that he did?"

I nodded and gave her the puppy eyes. She sighed. "Alright, I call Bailey and see what I can do! But if I catch Grievouso-

"Grievous!"

"Whatever his name is, if he dares to hurt you, I'll personally use magic to subdue him!"

"Why couldn't you use your magic from before?" Ahsoka asked.

"Rules. Can't hurt you guys with it since God stripped me of my powerful spells."

Soltaria and Kit helped Grievous up, and made their way to the van.

"Remind me never to get on her bad side," Kit joked.

I went back to Rex and Cody, who stared at me in awe. "**Who **are you?"

A big smile plastered on my face. "Claire, Claire Aschlock."

Cody paused as he continued to stare at me in amazement, while Rex cleared his throat. "Cody, I think General Kenobi needs your help."

"Oh yes," He turned to me, giving a small salute. "See you later, Claire."

Cody left and I turned to Rex, whose gaze never left mine.

"What?"

"Nothing, I never notice this side of you before."

I cocked my head to the side, while Rex struggled with his next few words.

"So did… anything happen between you and Cody?" He asked.

I turned to him, surprised as he looked away in an attempt to hide his embarrassment.

I laughed. "Rex, I have self-respect you know! Besides, Cody and I are just friends. Nothing else."

Later did I realize that a battle was arriving and I was the unfortunate one to get caught in it.

########

xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: Finally! Chapter 3 is over! Now with another clone joining the fray, will there be a love triangle in this story?

Claire: No offense, but I'm not some playgirl. Who on earth will one to get involve with me?

Meanwhile, Rex and Cody were learning to play Halo 3 on Claire's Xbox 360.

Rex: Eat grenades, Cody!

Cody: What the- OMG! You just killed me!

Rex: HAHA! Now that's what I call pretty!

Cody: What the Force is wrong with you?

Claire: Hey, Hey! You guys are supposed to fight together, not kill each other!

xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: Looks like jealousy is sprouting faster than I thought! Well, please look forward to the next chapter and review! No flames!

***A/N: FYI, this fanfic is updated weekly, but I won't be updating during 8 to 13th Dec, so I may post chapter 4 in an advance or after my overseas trip. Thank you and God bless!


	4. Of Elders and Younglings

**Chapter 4: Of Elders and Younglings**

_Previously: Soltaria sent Claire to a science exhibition, only to find that a Star Wars Convention is being held in the same venue. While Rex and Claire find themselves in awkward moments, the gang finds Cody and General Grievous on the loose and tracked them down. However, Claire remains unaware of a battle of jealousy beginning, upon the new characters arrival…_

xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: …Will blood be spilled onto the carpet? And will Claire ever get a happy ending? If she does who will it be?

Ahsoka: I bet 1000 credits that she'll pick Rex.

Anakin: Ditto.

Claire: Say WHAT?!

Obi Wan: Although Jedi usually don't gamble… I'll vote for Cody.

Claire: Nani?! O_o

Kit Fisto: Same here, and I can use my share of credits!

Claire: Hey, hey, HEY! I'm not going to be part of this bet!

Anakin: Grievous, do you have any credits?

Grievous: (Grumbles) Not much…

Anakin: Good! Snips, put in his credits for our bet.

Grievous: WHAT?!

Ahsoka: (Hands over Grievous' bag of credits to xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx)

xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: First of all, I would like to thank all those who have reviewed! You guys really motivated me to update this chapter before I head overseas.

Everyone: (Cheers for the reviewers) YAAAYYY! WOOHOOO!

xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx : Now, can someone do the disclaimer?

Kit Fisto: xXHiKaRi_ShIrOuXx does not own anything from star wars clone wars and whatever star wars franchise that exists. She owns nothing in her fanfics, but her OC, Claire Aschlock. Soltaria Levin belongs to a friend of hers.

Grievous: This is daylight robbery! I demand you to-

xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: HIIIIYYAAAA! (Send Super Kick at Grievous, who was ) Now that the obstacle is out of the way… Onto the story!

############

"I got you now, Cody!" Rex gritted his teeth, his voice getting real edgy as his fingers slammed onto the buttons of his Xbox 360 controller.

"Damn," Cody muttered under his breath when Rex shot down Cody's player with an assault rifle in Halo 3.

Yup, that's right. Two clone commandos are actually playing Halo 3 on my Xbox 360. Soltaria got it for me as a Christmas gift last December. For some weird reason, Rex and Cody were having some kind of internal battle that I was unaware of. After teaching them how to play Halo 3, Rex and Cody had been trying to outwit and kill each other's player, mostly Rex, who was having the eager trigger-happy fingers. Cody on the other hand, was much calmer and was concentrating more on staying alive.

"Haha! I win!" Rex exclaimed in triumph as his player killed Cody's player.

But a few moments later, a plasma bomb suddenly exploded on the back of Rex's player. "What the Force?!"

I caught Cody silently smirking then. "Looks like it's a draw."

Rex shot a short glare at Cody, and I decided to interject, quickly sitting between them on the couch.

"Guys, you do realize this is Co-op mode right? So you're supposed to be fighting _**together**_…" I directed a stern gaze to both of them. "… Not _**killing**_each other."

"I know that, but I just don't know what the Force is wrong with Rex," Cody huffed.

Rex glared. "You want a rematch?"

Cody glared even harder. "Bring it on."

As the two of them started battling again, I shook my head and sighed. _Boys._

"I'll go get some snacks and drinks." I stood up from the couch and headed for the kitchen.

'What's up with Rex lately?' I wondered, walking towards the kitchen and filled up a bowl with potato chips from the cabinet. 'I never saw Rex being this aggressive, except while battling droids and giving commands to clones in Star Wars the Clone Wars.'

I blinked. Why was I even caring about him now! I should be concentrating on finding the other characters!

I sighed and closed my eyes in frustration. 'But then again. Maybe it's because I… really…'

"Gee, Claire, are you going to eat all of that?" Ahsoka asked, suddenly popping beside me.

It was then I snapped out of my train of thoughts, discovering that potato chips were overflowing from the bowl in front of me.

"ACK!" I cried out, scooping the extra potato chips away from the table.

Ahsoka kept a beaming smile on her face as I cleared the mess. "So how are Rex and Cody doing?"

I jabbed a thumb over to the two guys practically slaughtering each other at Halo 3.

"Oh," She said vaguely.

"I thought they were the best of friends," I replied sarcastically. " I guess I was wrong."

I went to get some Coke as Ahsoka took a potato chip.

"I think they're just being competitive with each other for now."

She laughed. "About a game? Hardly. I think it's more than that."

I arched a brow. "Oh really?"

Ahsoka smiled. "Did you ever notice the way Rex looked at you?"

I blinked and Ahsoka smiled even wider.

"What exactly are you getting at?"

She motioned me to come closer and I leaned my ear next to her.

"I think he's jealous," Ahsoka whispered.

My face reddened to a shade of bright red. Realizing the true meaning of her words, I pulled away to face her.

"You're kidding."

"Nope."

"If I'm somehow added to the equation of his jealousy, I'm not going to ask any further."

I was about to walk out of the kitchen when Ahsoka groaned. "Oh come on! You can't just pretend to ignore the fact that he may **like** you."

"That's the thing. I don't think he would be interested in a girl with a small chest and zero percent sex appeal."

"You're not that ugly," She insisted.

"That's what they all say…" I paused, upon noticing that the house was much more quiet than before. "Where did Soltaria and the others go?"

"I'm not sure, Soltaria said something about practicing her spells. General Grouchy's locked himself in Sky Guy's room after kicking him out. Now, Sky Guy's upstairs with Master Kenobi and Master Fisto," She said.

Regardless, I went upstairs to check up on them. Don't ask me why, I just had this gut feeling that something smells rather fishy with Soltaria's 'silence'.

##########

"Ok guys, just hold still and it will be over before you know it."

Anakin and Kit gulped as Soltaria flexed her muscles and cracked her knuckles.

"I'm not sure if this is a good idea," Obi Wan spoke worriedly.

"Relax, Obi Wan. I just need to get a sample of their aura so that I can transfer it into the tracker device," Soltaria explained while showing him the silver pen like memory eraser/ tracker. "When we caught Grievous and Cody, the device didn't alert me of their presence like it was supposed to. Bailey told me that the tracker didn't alert me of Grievous' appearance before because I need a sample of the aura from the world you all originated from."

"Not because you left it off?" Kit asked.

"And that you didn't realize this problem and forgot about it until now?" Anakin added.

Soltaria's eye twitched at Kit and Anakin's further insults to the injury. She rolled up her sleeves and flexed her fingers. Oh this was going to hurt…

"Brace yourselves…" She warned. "…This may sting a little."

Anakin and Kit gulped simultaneously and squeezed their eyes shut. Soltaria smirked. '_Oh I'm going to do more than just sting…_' She cackled in her mind.

############

I knocked on Anakin's room, only to be greeted by General Grievous' infamous roar. I shuddered. '_Know when not to provoke the tiger, unless you want to get eaten…'_

Not wanting to provoke him further, I swiftly moved over to Soltaria's room. It was then I noticed a mysterious purple glow emitted from the door. 'This cannot be good!' Instinctively, I place my ear against the door.

"A spoonful of sugar! Mix up the batter!" Soltaria chanted.

"What the…" I muttered in surprise. "What on earth is she doing in there?"

"Strawberry Shortcakes! Chocolate cupcakes!"

An anime sweat drop formed on my forehead.

"Sweets galore! Come take them all!"

I almost did an anime fall. '_Is she having a desert party_?'

"All together and what do you get?"

'Ok! That's it!' I twisted the doorknob and barged into the room. A purple luminous glow filled the whole room and Anakin and Kit were floating, covered in the same purple glow. Obi Wan, who was standing at the far corner of the room, let out a small gasp.

"What on earth is going on?!" I demanded.

Soltaria, who was floating right next to Anakin and Kit, turned to me, gasping upon my entrance. "Claire-Bear?"

ZAP! ZAP! ZAP! KABOOM!!

##########

Upon hearing the large explosion, the other SW characters, except Grievous, rushed to Soltaria's room to find Soltaria on the wooden floor rubbing her fore head and Obi Wan on the floor with his butt in the air.

"What the Force just happened?" Rex asked.

"Ow…" Soltaria winced and paused, soon frantically searching for the memory eraser/ tracker device. Upon finding it, she held the now beeping device up in the air with a wide smile in the presence of Obi Wan.

"At last! It's a success!" She cried out in joy.

"Argh… But where's Anakin, Kit and Claire?" Obi Wan asked wearily.

Just then, someone hiccupped and everyone averted their gaze to the three kids in the room. A little dirty-blonde haired boy with ocean-blue eyes looked around his surroundings, a green-skinned nautolan child with dark hazel eyes stared curiously ahead and finally, a little girl with black wispy shoulder length hair and the most curious and big opal eyes and petite frame, hiccupped while she sat still in the presence of the crowd. There was a very awkward silence as Soltaria and the other SW characters just gaped at the somewhat cute sight.

"Skyguy… Master Fisto… Claire?" Ahsoka gaped in disbelief.

Within seconds, the kids, Anakin and Kit ran out of the room, laughing and squealing as they raced around the house. Meanwhile, Claire just sat on the floor and cocked her head to the side. "Heke?" She said, confused and oblivious to what just happened.

Soltaria's eyes beamed and she hugged chibi Claire, squealing as loud as she could, "KAWAII!! Oh you're so cute! You little sweetie, you!"

Cody turned to Obi Wan. "Erm, sir, what just happened?"

Rex and Ahsoka were on the other hand, just plain dumb founded about the fact that their superior had just turned into a five-year old hyperactive kid.

"It appears that when Claire came into the room, Soltaria messed up the spell used to extract their aura for the tracking device. They can't remember anything except what they had experienced as kids."

"And now they're little kids running around the house, with very dangerous minds?" Rex asked.

Crashes from downstairs alerted the group and Ahsoka, Rex and Cody raced down to find Kit standing beside a pile of broken plates.

"Master Fisto, please don't… Eek!" Ahsoka yelped as Anakin spanked her butt with a broom.

Anakin laughed impishly and ran off with Kit to terrorize another room.

"Why that little…" Ahsoka growled softly and chased after them.

Obi Wan sighed, lowering his shoulders. "This is going to take awhile. Cody go assist Ahsoka in catching Anakin and Master Fisto."

"Yes sir," He saluted and walked away.

Just then, Soltaria came down the stairs, holding Claire in her arms and tickling her.

"Who's the little cutie pie, eh?" Soltaria teased as she tickled Claire's waist, making her giggle. "Let's watch some TV, ok?"

Claire blinked and slowly mouthed the words, "O…K…"

Soltaria squealed again and snapped a photo of Claire with her shiny maroon hand phone. Everyone in the room had a sweat drop on their forehead each, while Soltaria sat on the couch and placed Claire on her lap. She turned on the TV and Claire fiddled with the remote control. Rex gazed over to the now harmless and innocent Claire.

"Is the spell permanent, Soltaria?"

"My spells are rusty, but they usually wear off after awhile, except for the device, it's meant to capture the sample aura until it is replaced."

Rex breathed a sigh of relief. Then, Kit ran out from the bathroom behind the kitchen and up the stairs with no sweat, leaving Ahsoka to follow him from behind, yelling at him to stop.

"How long?" Obi Wan asked.

Soltaria shrugged. "Give or take a few hours. Maybe a day… or a week…"

Rex's heart sank. '_But at that rate…_'

"Solty! Solty!" Claire tugged Soltaria's sleeve and pointed to the TV screen. "Lookie! Who is that?"

Soltaria and Obi Wan gazed at the screen; a slightly shocked expression filled their faces as the female reporter went on with the news:

In today's news, an old man was arrested after somehow seriously injuring a teenager, who is currently sent to a hospital via ambulance. The assailant is now in prison and awaiting bail…

The screen flickered to show a picture of an old man with white hair and beard, dressed in a dark maroon robe, his face devoid of emotions. At that very moment, Soltaria's tracker beeped.

"Count Dooku," Obi Wan muttered angrily.

"Count Who?"

Obi Wan unfolded his crossed arms and headed for the door. "We must head over to retrieve him at once."

"But what about Claire-Bear, Anakin and Kit?" She gazed over at Claire's baby-cute eyes that stared back with curiosity.

"I think the others can manage them," He smiled.

Soltaria gave a look of great worry to Claire, who remained oblivious and smiled cheerfully with sparkly eyes. Soltaria whimpered, "Aw maaaaaan…"

She gave Claire one last squeeze on the cheek and told her firmly, "Be good, ok? I'm going to go out with Uncle Kenobi for awhile."

Claire nodded. "Hai (Yes)! Solty!"

Soltaria sighed blissfully and hugged her tightly before grabbing her silver jacket and purse, and headed for the door. At the doorstep, Soltaria gave one last glance at Claire, whose beaming smile never faded. She took out her hand phone and snapped another photo of Claire. As Soltaria and Obi Wan boarded the van and drove off, Claire ran to the doorstep and yelled, "See you later, Solty!"

#########

Rex stared at the little girl who stood and watched the van drive away. She closed the door carefully and turned around to meet Rex's gaze. She smiled timidly. "Hello."

Rex's heart jumped at her honey-sweet and soft voice. Claire slowly walked towards him as he knelt down to her level. She stopped in front of him and stared into the visor of his helmet. Rex ruffled her hair affectionately and she giggled.

"Hey Claire," He chuckled.

"Hello," She greeted back politely. "What's your name?"

Her words slightly pained him and he remembered Obi Wan's words.

'_They can't remember anything except what they had experienced as kids.'_

So she had forgotten him too… He felt saddened by this fact. Claire stared back curiously at Rex's silent gaze. "What's wrong?" She asked.

He remained silent and Claire gently placed her hand on his chest, where his heart is. "Are you hurt?"

Rex smiled behind his helmet and ruffled her hair again. "No, and my name is Rex."

She cocked her head to the side. "Rexy?"

"No, Rex. R-E-X."

Claire giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him into a hug.

"Rexy!" She exclaimed.

Completely shocked, all Rex could do was awkwardly hug her back. Her warmth radiated against his body, while the scent of her hair drifted to his nose, oddly comforting him.

"Aww…"

Rex turned around sharply to find Cody plainly staring at both them, while Ahsoka grinned. She was about to open her mouth, but Rex cut in, "Don't even think about it."

Ahsoka closed her mouth and her lips formed a satisfied smirk.

"So where is General Skywalker and Commander Fisto?" Rex asked.

An ear-shattering roar exploded from upstairs and Anakin and Kit rushed down the steps, hiding behind Cody and Ahsoka as General Grievous stomped down the stairs angrily. But the minute he appeared visible to everyone, they started roaring with laughter. Grievous' faceplate and armor were vandalized with marker doodles and words. There was a huge '**Anakin waz here**' was written boldly across Grievous' chest plate, along with '**KIT RULEZ**' written messily down Grievous' leg armor. Dark messy eyelashes and a bushy moustache were drawn untidily on his faceplate.

"What's so funny?" Grievous growled menacingly.

They didn't answer his question and just kept on laughing, until Claire ran to tug Grievous' hand and led him to the nearest bathroom. A few moments later, Grievous let out a scream of terror and Claire skipped out of the bathroom behind the kitchen, running back to hold Rex's hand.

"Oh the FORCE!" Grievous blurted out a cry of woe.

Anakin sniggered and grabbed a broom, smacking the butts of Ahsoka, Cody, Rex and Kit. They yelped, especially Kit (Now, AKA Anakin's partner-in-crime for chaos) and chased after Anakin, who held the broom in the air in victory as he ran off.

"BWAHAHAHA! Spanky strikes again!" Anakin laughed.

Cody grunted and rubbed his sore butt. "Are you sure your General hasn't turned to the Dark Side?"

"Hey! Don't insult-"

Before Rex could finish his sentence, Anakin ran back to them and smacked Claire's butt. Her eyes widened in shock at the impact, and she blushed scarlet. As Anakin stuck out his tongue at her, Claire's body trembled and she began to whimper, tears brimming in her eyes.

"Oh no! No, please don't cry!" Ahsoka begged.

But alas, she did, wailing like a siren and tears poured from her eyes like a water fountain. Rex glared angrily at the fear-stricken Anakin, who sped away upon meeting Rex's angry glare of DOOM. For once, he didn't give a damn if the puny runt was his commanding officer.

"Come back here! You PUNK!" Rex yelled, chasing the screaming boy around the house.

Cody picked up the sobbing Claire and cradled her in his arms, patting her shaking back. "There, there. It's alright now."

She hiccupped as Cody wiped away the tears from her eyes. Ahsoka came over to Claire and smiled at her. "Don't worry, Claire. You'll get back to normal soon! In the mean time, why not we get something to eat?"

Claire slowly stopped sobbing and Cody took it as a good sign to let her down. Just as the two characters began making their way to the kitchen, Claire ran towards Cody and grabbed hold of his hand. He looked down towards her crystal clear eyes, taken by surprise as she smiled meekly at him.

##########

"For the last hundredth time, I'm Soltaria Levin and I'm here to bail you out of jail!" Soltaria exasperated.

"But how did you know me?" The man behind the glass panel decked in orange prisons wears asked.

Her lips twitched nervously and she held her temple. "I'm supposed to be… your … **grand daughter**," She hissed through the phone, while casting a glare at Obi Wan, who couldn't help but smile secretly.

Upon reaching the jail, Soltaria and Obi Wan devised a plan to bail Dooku out of jail without causing too much suspicion among the police officers. In order to do that, they would need to converse with Dooku and explain to him the predicament of the SW characters stuck on earth, getting him to agree to their to return everyone back home. Despite the fact that Dooku was working for the Sith Empire and betrayed the Jedi, Soltaria convinced Obi Wan that it was best that they at least bring him back to the SW world, where the Jedi can deal with him. Apparently, Obi Wan and Dooku had a 'history' in the past. Obi Wan agreed, but with the condition that Soltaria had to play the role of his 'relative' to bail him out.

"I see..." Count Dooku muttered, still keeping a severe look on his face as his eyes met with Obi Wan's own. He was having some doubts in their plan of course, especially with the part that he would be returned to the Jedi to be dealt with. Then again, he had to return to his world to carry out the plans bestowed upon him by the Sith Emperor. Otherwise, he would be easily replaced. Dooku would have to think of an escape plan when they return back to his world.

"So do you agree with our plan?" Obi Wan asked.

Count Dooku nodded. He would have to leave his fate in their hands for now.

A knock on the door was heard from behind and a police officer emerged. Soltaria turned to him. "How much is the bail?"

The young police officer scanned the paper on his clipboard. "Not much…"

"Phew, thank goodness," Soltaria sighed.

"… Only $120 850."

Soltaria's jaws dropped. "Just for injuring one dude?!"

"Apparently, that's not the only thing he did," The police officer continued. "Your 'Grandpa' also committed theft, vandalism and an assault on an old lady."

Soltaria and Obi Wan turned to Count Dooku, who was equally dumbstruck.

"That's preposterous. I don't remember doing any of that!" He said.

"Guess again Old man. We have witnesses and camera footages of your crimes sent by them this afternoon, so don't try acting innocent just because you're old."

He opened the door and sneered at the trio. "If you can't pay the bail, get ready to be in court and your comfy prison cell for 2 years."

With that, the officer left them and Obi Wan remarked crossly, "He certainly wasn't polite as the officers you spoke of, Soltaria."

"Aw man! I don't have that kind of cash now! Why did you have to do all those stupid crimes, Count Dooku?"

"I swear I had nothing to do with those crimes," Dooku replied passively.

Just then a thought rose in Soltaria's mind. "Hey Dooku, you're a sith right? Don't you have any of those Force powers to use?"

"I do indeed."

"Then why can't you just use them to bust out of this prison?"

Dooku remained silent, and Obi Wan's face turned into one of surprise. "You mean you have never thought of that?"

Dooku furrowed his eyebrows together. "I'll give it a try now."

He turned to the police officer behind him and raised his hand at him.

"What are you doing?" The officer demanded.

"You'll let me out of this prison."

"What?!"

Dooku concentrated harder. "You will let me out of this prison."

As if pain had shot his head, the officer held his head, struggling to keep his mind in control. "Argh! No, I won't!"

Dooku's eyes widened with such fierceness, bellowing, "YOU WILL!"

"AAAARRRRGGGGHHHHH!!!!!"

Soltaria stared at the horrendous sight of the officer howling in pain, eventually becoming a mindless slave under Dooku's mind control.

"I will… let you out of this prison…" He slurred.

The officer mindlessly went to unlock the door and led Dooku outside to the room where Soltaria and Obi Wan were in. Soltaria was quite shaken by what happened. "I will never complain about old people again," She mumbled nervously to Obi Wan.

"At least we accomplished the mission, sort of."

Count Dooku's eyes darted around the room and he sharply turned to Soltaria and Obi Wan. His action caused Soltaria to gasp in fear, but his face melted into one of confusion.

"Where… Am I?" Dooku asked out of the blue.

Obi Wan and Soltaria stared at the once formidable Sith who peered closer at their faces.

"Do I… know you?"

Soltaria and Obi Wan turned to each other, an expression of worry and confusion appeared on their faces. Obi Wan averted his gaze to Dooku.

"Dooku, don't you recognize us?" He asked warily.

"Of course not! I never seen you two in my whole entire life!"

Soltaria's jaw dropped as Dooku laughed heartily. "Have you seen my robes? I can't afford to walk around in this pathetic strange orange costume."

Obi wan felt dumbfounded, while Soltaria blinked uncontrollably.

And so one problem, led to another.

##########

Claire scooped a spoonful of chocolate chip ice cream and tenderly ate it. She licked the ice cream around her mouth and giggled happily, taking another bite. Ahsoka and Cody, who had placed his helmet on the table, enjoyed ice cream together with her as they talked.

"I never knew Earth had such wonderful desserts!' Ahsoka commented joyfully, taking another bite of her strawberry ice cream.

"It's sweet…" Cody tasted a spoonful of vanilla ice cream, shuddering. "… And cold."

"Why does she have to sit on my lap?" Grievous grunted, while the little girl on his lap offered him a spoonful of her ice cream, which he rejected. Thankfully, the marker that Anakin and Kit used were filled with washable ink, and Claire helped cleaned them off Grievous. He had refused her many offers to help, but the girl was quite stubborn and scrubbed the markings off him without complaining. She was different from the others.

"Because she's too short to reach the table."

"Well then why doesn't she sit on your laps?"

Ahsoka rolled her eyes. "Who asked you not to eat, Mr. Grouchy?"

"I beg you pardon?" He growled.

"Grievy, you not hungry?" Claire asked innocently.

"I don't eat," He grumbled.

Claire cocked her head to the side. "Why not?"

Grievous was about to give her the scolding of a lifetime, but when his fierce amber eyes met with her curious opal sparkly eyes, he couldn't bring himself to raise his voice at the child. He grunted. "Because I can't."

Claire replied with an 'Oh', then turned to Cody and she giggled. Cody stared at her with an unfazed expression. "What?"

She giggled even more and pointed at his face. "Ice cream on your face."

Ahsoka laughed as Cody touched his cheek to find vanilla ice cream dripping from his fingertips. Claire leaned next to Cody and kissed his ice-cream covered cheek. Cody blushed scarlet red while the others gaped at the scene.

"Thank you," She said timidly to Cody, who touched his cheek in a daze.

Rex, who had came down the stairs at that time, saw the scene and clenched his fists. "I thought you were supposed to help keep an eye on General Skywalker and Fisto…" His voice was hinted with anger and jealousy.

Cody finally noticed Rex and waved his hands in defense. "Rex, buddy, it's not what you think."

Rex gritted his teeth. "Ya, but I'm supposed to be looking after her. **You**, on other hand just left General Fisto swimming in a tub overflowing with water, while General Skywalker is running amok as a spanking machine."

"Say what?"

"Ooh… Rivalry at hand…" Grievous rolled his eyes.

Rex cracked his knuckles and bent his head side to side, making his way to Claire and snatched her away from Grievous' lap.

"My turn to take care of her."

Cody stood up and took a step forward at Rex. "Rex, I don't know what's up with you lately…"

He snatched Claire away from Rex's grasp. "…But I don't think it's wise to leave you with Claire now."

"But you already have her for the last two hours!"

"So? It's my responsibility to ensure her safety! She can come with me while I deal with the other two kids."

Ahsoka tried to intervene, freeing Claire from Cody's grasp and onto the floor. "Erm… guys?"

"It's always about you, isn't it?"

"No, Rex, listen-"

"I'm tired of listening to you and all of your rules! Blah, blah, blah!"

"It's not that, it's just…"

"Can't I just spend time with someone I care about?" Rex blurted out in anger.

Everyone stared at Rex, whose sudden confession left everyone shocked. Claire tugged Rex and Cody's hand gently, a worried expression on her face. "Don't fight…" She pleaded.

The two clones gazed at her, before averting their gazes to each other.

"I swear the two of you make a wonderful couple."

Rex and Cody glared at Grievous' sarcastic remark. Just then, Anakin smacked everyone's butts again with his infamous broom and everyone turned to Anakin, who laughed maniacally as he ran into the kitchen.

Rex turned to Cody. "Truce?"

Cody nodded. "Truce."

They followed Anakin, who turned the stove on and lighted up a lighter.

"Sir! Get away from that!" Rex warned.

Anakin smiled impishly and lighted the stove. Fire burst out from the stove, dancing in the air maliciously.

Ahsoka used her force powers to lift Anakin off the ground and towards them. Anakin was sent hurling towards Cody, who grabbed him. "Got'cha!"

"Rex, we'll take care of Claire and Anakin, you put out the fire!" Ahsoka said.

"I'm on it."

But just then, Claire began to tremble and her body shook terribly.

"Claire?"

Without hesitation, Claire ran away, up the stairs and slammed the door to her room.

"Claire!" Ahsoka yelled.

But she didn't answer, all she did was ran and ran and ran…

… Just to escape the fire that had haunted her for so long.

########

"We're home!" Soltaria called out.

Obi Wan accompanied the confused Dooku, who asked him for the millionth time. "Who are you again?"

Obi Wan controlled his urge to shut him up for good and spoke as patiently as he could, "Obi Wan, Dooku. Obi Wan Kenobi."

"Ah, I see, I see…" Dooku paused and then asked again. "Who are you?"

Grey smoke floated in the air and Soltaria's eyes widened. She rushed to the kitchen to see Rex attempting to put out the fire with water and Grievous, Ahsoka and Cody holding Anakin and Kit, who had just came out of the bathroom.

"What the hell are you doing?!"

"Trying to put out the fire, Soltaria."

Soltaria pushed him aside turned off the stove and grabbed the extinguisher, putting out the flame within seconds. She sternly glared at Rex.

"You idiot! You can't use water on electrical fires! You'll make it worse!" She scolded.

"Sorry," He apologized.

Soltaria's eyes darted around. "Where's Claire?"

"She ran up to her room, after the fire broke out," Ahsoka replied.

"You mean she saw the fire?!"

"Erm… yeah…"

Soltaria grew furious and flared up. "You idiots! Claire is afraid of fire, especially big ones!"

Everyone stared back in shock at her revelation.

"But… why?" Ahsoka asked.

"She was the sole survivor trapped in a burning building that was about to collapse when she was only 2. Some accident caused a fire to break out and Claire was trapped in some rubble in a burning room. If it weren't for her Dad, she would have been burned to death in there…"

Rex stayed silent after learning about the truth. He had no idea.

"But that's not important now. Obi Wan, keep an eye on Dooku, I need to go look for Claire now."

Just then, Rex placed a firm hand on her shoulder. "I'll go," He said.

"But-"

Ahsoka shook her head at Soltaria and Rex walked up the stairs to Claire's room. Soltaria stared back at group of SW characters.

"Did I miss something?" She asked, completely surprised by the turn of events.

Cody patted the heads of Anakin and Kit. "Nothing much except that these runts tore the place apart."

Dooku stared hard at Grievous and asked, "You look very familiar…"

Grievous grunted. "Welcome to hell… my lord."

Dooku's eyes lit up. "Oh I remember! You're that servant I ordered from the Slave market in Tatooine!"

"WHAT SERVANT?!" Grievous flared up at the insult.

Cody and Ahsoka glanced back to Obi Wan, who shrugged. "Dooku is kind of suffering from some memory loss after taking out a prison guard and a couple of guards at the exit."

"We have a name for that kind of illness in this world: Alzheimer's Disease." Soltaria scoffed. "He even forgot about your name like ten times!"

"And he forgot yours eleven times."

"Oh hush."

Dooku looked at the kids with a wary eye. "I don't recall having any grandchildren…"

###########

Rex opened the door of Claire's room and found her huddled into a ball at a dark and far corner of the room. She was shivering and sobbing, her face hidden from him. She was in such a wretched state.

"Claire…" Rex whispered softly.

Her ears perked up at Rex's voice. She looked up to him, tears still flowing from her watery and reddened eyes. Rex felt his heart stabbed painfully at the sight, but he knew that he wasn't the only one feeling such pain. He walked towards Claire, knelt down and caressed her cheek. With one finger, he wiped away the tears from her eyes and she ran towards him, hugging him by the waist and cried her heart out. Rex patted her back as Claire wailed and cried at the fresh memory of the fire that scarred her for life. He noticed a tear on the side of her pants and saw the scar the fire left on her right leg. His eyes softened and he embraced the shaken girl in his arms.

So many things flashed in her mind then.

The smell of smoke… The burning of wallpaper…

The crumbling ceiling… The crackling of the red-hot fire surrounding her…

The choking and screaming of poor unfortunate souls trapped alongside her…

The searing and burning pain that her leg felt…

And then, the voice of her father…

"It's all my… fault…" She sobbed.

"It wasn't."

"D-D-Daddy… sob… told me… sob… to stay with mummy… sniff, sob, sob… But I got lost… then… then, the smelly and scaring hot monster came…"

Rex pondered over her words, realizing she was referring to the fire Soltaria was talking about.

"It tried to eat me… and t-t-touch me… it hurt me when it did that… sob… It was so painful… So painful…" She hiccupped and sobbed. "And there were s-s-scary noises from next door… i-i-it sounded like… someone was in p-p-pain…"

She clutched onto Rex's armor.

"I was …sob… so scared…" She cried.

Rex comforted the trembling girl in his arms. Never did he expect the headstrong and cheerful girl to hide such a traumatic part of her past from others so easily. Right now, what he was holding in his arms was probably the last shred of innocence and fear locked away in Claire's heart.

He caressed the locks of her raven black hair and laid her ear next to his heart, soon wrapping his strong and muscular arms protectively around the frail girl's body.

"Don't worry. I'll protect you, I promise," He whispered to her softly and lovingly.

Claire was briefly stunned and gazed up to his visor.

"Promise?"

"Promise."

A breath-taking smile formed on her lips and Rex was left speechless. She relaxed, closing her eyes and listened to the beating of his heart. Rex carried Claire to her bed and laid her on it gently. He pulled the blanket under her chin and she held his hand tenderly. Rex smiled behind the helmet and sat next to her, signaling to Claire that he will stay by her side. Her eyes slowly closed as she pressed her cheek against his hand.

"Rexy?"

Rex turned to her. "Hm?"

A warm smile formed on her lips. "Thank you."

Rex paused as she murmured something inaudible in her sleep. He stared at the peaceful sleeping form of the girl and sighed.

"… I love you too, Claire."

########

_A few hours later… At night…_

When I woke up, I was very surprised to find Rex asleep beside my bed. But I was even more surprised to find my fingers intertwined with his.

It was then I found myself back as my normal teenage self.

Deciding to deal with Soltaria tomorrow, I cast my eyes to Rex, who was snoring softly. I giggled as he shifted in his sleep, but gasped as he turned over and laid his head on the bed right next to me. My face blushed scarlet as he muttered in his sleep.

"Mmm… Claire…"

I stared at him in shock. '_Oh my God! What on earth is he dreaming about!_'

Yet, my heart dreamily fluttered as he mentioned my name over and over again in his sleep. I smacked my chibi inner self mentally for thinking dirty thoughts. But for some reason, I couldn't help but smile.

Maybe I do like him after all…

###########

xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: Sigh… what a sweet scene…

Claire: (blushes madly and punches author)

xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: Ow! (Rubs cheek)

Claire: Sorry, but there was a fly on your face.

xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: What kind of excuse is that?! Well anyway, what about you, Rex? Rex?

Rex: (Still in a daze after what happened)

Cody: If you don't pay attention, you might lose your girlfriend.

Rex: (Snaps out of daze) WHAT? Who? Where?!

Cody: Just kidding.

Rex: (Growls) I'm gonna throttle you…

Ahsoka: And let the Rex Vs Cody battles continue!

Grievous: (Snorts) The sight of those two lover birds makes me want to puke!

xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: That's all folks! See you in the next chap! Cheers, and remember to review! No flames! :)


	5. Center of attention is not my style

**Chapter 5: Center of attention is not my style**

_Previously: When a botched spell transformed Claire, Anakin and Kit into kids, the other SW characters have to babysit them while Soltaria and Obi Wan figure a way out to bail Count Dooku from jail. With two of the kids causing mayhem and Rex's jealousy towards Cody, mayhem occurred around the house, leading to a fire in the kitchen. When it accidently triggered Claire's fear, Rex simmered down to realize that the girl he loves is not all that she seems to be…_

xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: … And thus, love blossoms! Oh, how sweet thy love is! Anyways, hello everyone! I'm finally back from Australia and ready to present you thee 'magnificent' update!

Claire: Since when did you become Shakespeare?

xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: Since I remembered that one of your most darkest secrets will be revealed in this chapter!

Everyone: (Leans ears closer)

Rex: We're listening.

xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: Sorry guys, but someone has to do the disclaimer before we can continue with the story. Who hasn't done it had better step out of the crowd.

Everyone: (Silence)

xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: (Glares) NOW!

Cody: (Gets kicked out of the crowd) Ow! Ok, ok! xXHiKaRi_ShIrOuXx does not own anything from star wars clone wars and whatever star wars franchise that exists. She owns nothing in her fanfics, but her OC, Claire Aschlock. Soltaria Levin belongs to a friend of hers.

xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: Wow… Cody, I never expected you, the one, who follows every procedure and protocol to be reluctant in this.

Grievous: (Scoffs) He was too 'distracted' by the girl obviously.

Claire: o////o (Blushes)… Eh?

Cody: O_o What- No! NO!

Rex: (Growls, angry aura forming around him)

xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: Well before any bloodshed follows, I will like to thank the reviewers! Now, onto the story! ^^

##########

When I was little, I always dreamed about dancing on little fluffy white clouds like a little angel. Religiously listening to music and practicing in the ballet studio were the few things that I did in my daily life back then. I had even show my parents dancing routines which I have choreographed on my own or improvised whenever I forgot a step in a lesson routine. I guess that's why my mother signed me up for gymnastic classes to make my body more flexible.

Let's just say there was a whole lot of **pain** and **bending** involved.

I loved dancing because it made my body move so fluidly to the beat and gave me a sense of freedom. It was like having your own style to represent yourself, and not something else. But as I grown, I began to learn different types of dances: Hip-Hop, tango, waltzes, break-dancing and (My favourite) street-dancing. I guess that's when my obsession for hoodies sprouted from during second grade.

Dancing was almost second nature to me, along with singing. But for some reason, my voice wasn't like most girls. It sounded more like young guy whose voice hadn't cracked. Soltaria may say that talents are gifts…

But for today, I say they are a curse.

#########

I stood at the entrance of the Red Waters Park, my arms folded crossly and my eyes glared straight at Soltaria.

"Come on, Claire-Bear! We're going to be late for the fund-raising talent concert!" She said.

I sulked and replied angrily, "You mean the one which you signed me up without telling me?"

Soltaria scratched the back of her head. "Well I was going to tell you, but it kind of slipped my mind."

"Slipped? **SLIPPED**?" I was on the verge of blowing up when Rex came over and placed two comforting hands on my shoulders.

"Now, now, Claire… take it easy there."

Recently, one of Soltaria's clients from her social worker career had organized this show and was looking for volunteers. So he turned to Soltaria for help, resulting in the SW characters and I being forcefully volunteered.

"Come on guys! It will be fun! Let's just chill for a sec," Soltaria tried to placate us, and then let her gaze dart around. "Say… where's Anakin anyway?"

"General Skywalker is… currently ill from the ride," Rex hesitantly muttered.

I averted my gaze to the van. Sure enough, Anakin was vomiting on the road and looking paler and queasier by the minute.

"Gross…" Ahsoka murmured.

"Soltaria, why must we do this 'talent show'? Obi wan asked.

"Actually when Harvey, the client, came to me this morning, my tracker went beeping in full alarm," Soltaria explained. "I thought there was a mistake, but there was an similar force aura coming from him."

"So he might have come into contact with one of our allies?" Kit asked.

"Right, a SW character is currently at the talent show and we have to rescue him or her."

"Why can't we just barge in and save that guy?" Grievous grumbled.

Soltaria unzipped her sling bag and searched the interiors for the passes at the reception table. "Because the last time we did that, you guys always end up creating a huge mess of the place and risking a huge bill at my doorstep. So I figure we should go for a stealthier approach."

Cody cocked a brow. "And that would be?"

"You guys performing at the talent show. Duh."

##########

Harvey, clad in a tux and with brown matted hair and olive green eyes, peeked at the huge masses of crowd forming outside the stage and smirked.

"You won't get away with this."

Harvey whipped around to the brunette in a white jumpsuit tied to a chair in his trailer parked away from the stage. Her chocolate brown eyes glared harshly at the scheming man before her.

"Oh but **Padme**, I already have," He said. "All I have to do is expose you to the people and prove that you are indeed a fictional character brought to life by some hocus pocus. The media would come in a matter of minutes and 'Boom!' Fame, riches and power!"

"And how are you going to prove that?" She challenged him.

Harvey smirked darkly and walked over to the woman, grabbing her chin and shifted her gaze to the crowd.

"One of my guests is a dear friend of mine, and she has a certain tracker to prove your existence to be one from another universe. We just need to wait for the right moment to snatch it from her grasp."

Padme stared in shock at the man. "Who on Earth are you?"

Harvey snapped his fingers and a small red flame appeared on his fingertips.

He slyly smirked. "I'm the Devil's Advocate."

#########

After signing up and changing into a white hoodie with blue fiery streaks, black long baggy pants and a pair of sneakers. '_How did I get into this?_' I thought.

Then I remembered, and I sighed shamefully. Blackmail with Star Wars Clone Wars magazines, comics and DVDs.

Swell, I've just traded my dignity for my fatal obsession.

"Looking good, Claire-Bear!"

I cringed and turned to meet Soltaria's beaming grin.

"Don't call me that in public. Ever," I groaned.

"But it's cute! Plus, your name is so easy to rhyme too!"

"Don't-"

"Claire is a bear who cares and loves to share…"

"Soltaria!" My face had flushed to a brilliant shade of bright red and I pulled up my hoodie to hide my embarrassed expression.

Soltaria laughed. "Ok, ok. Anyways, I've pass the CD to the AV crew, so you'll be up after the next performance."

"I'm gonna murder you for this…" I muttered under my breath. "How's the search going?"

"Kit, Anakin, Rex and Ahsoka are looking around at the moment with my tracker."

Just then Obi Wan, Cody, Dooku and Grievous came over from the other end of the backstage. "So what is our purpose here?" Obi Wan asked.

Soltaria grinned mischievously. "What would you say if I told you that you'll all be in a skit?"

#########

Ahsoka tore through the masses of crowd and ran around searching with Soltaria's SW character tracker secured in her hands. But there was no sign of any familiar face among the crowd. She squeezed her way out of the crowd and tiredly slumped towards the bench that Anakin was resting on.

"Any luck, Master?" She panted.

Anakin did not stir and Ahsoka grew worried. "Sky Guy?"

His body did not move an inch and Ahsoka shook his shoulders greatly. "Sky Guy, wake up!"

Anakin snored louder; his eyelids closed and his mouth wide open with drool descending down from his lips. Ahsoka's lips curled back in disgust. She tried to slap him awake, but his body just lay still in a sloppy position across the bench and continued to sleep. By then, Rex and Kit had just returned from their search around the park.

"Damn it, Sky Guy! How can you fall asleep at a time like this?!" Ahsoka yelled.

Then the crowd started clapping as the curtains from the stage parted to reveal someone in a hoodie and baggy pants. The performer stood still on the stage.

"Who is that?" Kit asked.

Soon, the song One Girl Revolution by Superchick was played out. It was then, the performer began to move and dance to the beat.

_I wear a disguise  
I'm just your average Jane  
The super doesn't stand for model  
But that doesn't mean I'm plain  
If all you see is how I look  
You miss the super chick within  
And I christen you titanic underestimate and swim_

The dancer let his whole body resonate with the music, dancing to the beat.

_I've got the rifle gonna be myself_  
_I've got the rifle gonna be myself_  
_I've got the rifle gonna be myself_  
_I've got the rifle gonna be myself_

He spun around, jumping in the air as the chorus was sang out.

_And I'll be everything that I wanna be  
I am confidence in insecurity  
I am a voice yet waiting to be heard  
I'll shoot the shot, bang, that you hear round the world  
And I'm a one girl revolution  
I'm a one girl revolution  
I'm a one girl revolution_

The dancer's arms shot out and began swinging and moving to the rhythm. His body was never once out of synch with the beat, and his whole body seemed to move so fluidly and wildly at the breaking dancing and hip-hop moves lashed out within seconds.

_Some people see the revolution but most only see the girl  
I can lose my hard earned freedom if my fear defines my world  
I declare my independence from the critics and their stones  
I can find my revolution I can learn to stand alone..._

_And I'll be everything that I want to be  
I am confidence in insecurity  
I am a voice yet waiting to be heard  
I'll shoot the shot, bang, that you hear round the world..._

_And I'm a one girl revolution  
I'm a one girl revolution  
I'm a one girl revolution  
(And I'm a one girl revolution  
I'm a one girl revolution  
And I'm a one girl revolution)_

Everyone began to cheer, and the SW characters were, well, speechless and gaping with wide-open mouths at the sheer energy and exuberance that the dancer possessed.

_And I'll be everything that I wanna be  
I am confidence in insecurity  
I am a voice yet waiting to be heard  
I'll shoot the shot, bang, that you hear round the world_

In the midst of the performance, a brunette in white was running away from the trailer parked far off from the stage. She was heading for the back stage while being chased by burly big security guards. The tracker in Ahsoka's hand went crazy, beeping and flashing a bright light to at the presence of the brunette. Ahsoka's eyes widened as she recognized the woman.

"…Senator Amidala?"

At the sound of her name, Anakin woke up and sprung to his feet. "Who? What? Where? I swear that I never dated her!"

Rex, Kit and Ahsoka just stared blankly at the awakened Jedi Knight.

"What?"

"Oh nothing, just that we saw Senator Amidala running off to the stage-"

In a matter of seconds, Anakin had sped off to the backstage and Ahsoka was chasing after him, along with Rex and Kit, who laughed heartily.

"I've never seen General Skywalker run so fast in my life," Rex wondered out loud in disbelief.

"That's Skywalker for you."

_Everything that I want to be  
I am confidence in insecurity  
I am a voice yet waiting to be heard  
I'll shoot the shot, bang, that you hear round the world_

Rex couldn't help but glance at the dancer, who ended her dance with a somersault and a full split on the stage floor.

_And I'm a one girl revolution  
I'm a one girl revolution_

'Who is that?' He couldn't help but wonder.

#######

I hid myself at the backstage after the tiring performance.

I panted and sighed. "Man, that was exhausting…"

Suddenly, her body slammed onto someone else and she almost fell until the person managed to steady her with gentle arms. I turned to the person, about to apologize when I saw the face of Padme Amidala.

"Holy Maloney…" I muttered.

"Stop right there!"

Two burly big security guards were charging towards us. Without hesitation, I grabbed Padme's arm and ran towards the ladder, which led to the upper level of the stage. The guards weren't too far behind, so I motioned her to climb the ladder quickly, following her from behind. Running across the bridge from the guards who picked up their pace as they reached the upper level with no sweat. I glanced to the spot light equipment and twisted one of them to face their direction, blinding the guards and causing them to howl in pain at the light.

"Come on! We got to get you out of here!"

Padme nodded in agreement and we headed to the nearest exit and guards got ready to continue their chase.

###########

"So, we meet again, Kenobi," A caped Grievous growled, holding out his light sabers and ready to duel.

"Likewise, Grievous," Obi Wan replied passively, readying his light saber as well.

"Surrender now Obi Wan, you are no match in a battle of two against one," Dooku warned with a serious look imprinted on his face.

Cody appeared on cue beside Obi Wan with his blaster. "He's not alone."

The crowd watched closely as the four characters from the SWTCW universe act out the skit planned by Soltaria. Or at least they could improvise.

Grievous coughed. "Hah! Even so, I shall defeat you right here and now!"

As he undid his cape and unsheathe his (fake) light sabers, Obi Wan rolled his eyes. Let's just say that Soltaria had confiscated their light sabers and replaced them with plastic ones to avoid more damage. Many fan girls from the audience squealed as Grievous flexed his so-called light saber fighting chops.

"Show-Off" Cody muttered.

Dooku blinked, earning an impatient gaze from Grievous. "My lord, it is your turn to speak."

Dooku blinked even harder and utterly confused. "What was my line again?"

Obi Wan and Cody were gob smacked.

"And why are so many people here staring at us like animals in a zoo?"

Grievous was trying to restrain his temper as best as he could. "My lord, we are supposed to be acting out our skit-"

"They are fans? Oh how wonderful! I'll introduce myself!"

"Dooku-"

"Greetings to you all! I'm Count Dooku, better known as the Sith lord, Darth Tyranus."

Obi Wan slapped his forehead, restraining his urge to laugh. "Dooku…"

"I'm currently working with the Emperor of the Empire who I serve with loyalty after leaving the Jedi Council and turning to the Dark Side! And I also love to eat lemon cakes and hot cross buns and drink black tea!" He continued with much exuberance and ignorance to the situation he was in.

Grievous was currently holding onto his last shred of sanity. "My lord, if you don't mind-"

Dooku turned to him and smacked his head upside. "Silence slave!"

Everyone roared with laughter as Dooku furiously fired many insults and curses at the droid general, while Obi Wan and Cody just stared at them dumbfounded.

"I think old age is catching up onto him, sir," Cody muttered.

"I couldn't agree more."

Dooku swiftly turned to Obi Wan, and slowly pointed a wrinkled finger at him.

"I know you!" He said.

Obi Wan sighed. "Well, that's a relief."

"You're my grandson from my second cousin removed! And you owe me 100, 000 credits!"

"I beg your pardon?"

"It is no lie," Dooku spoke darkly and did a Darth Vader pose with his finger still aimed at Obi Wan's face. "For **I**… am you grandfather."

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO…."

Obi Wan sank to his knees in much disgrace and the whole crowd boomed with uncontrollable laughter. Some were even rolling on the floor and clutching to their stomachs, banging their fists against the grassy earth. Grievous' eye twitched at the scene and Cody simply slapped his forehead.

"This is never going to work…"

############

Soltaria dodged a flame attack from Harvey who stood on the opposite end of the backstage. She gritted her teeth at the man in a tux, who blew the smoke from his fingertips. "I should have known it was you behind all of this."

Harvey chuckled. "Aw come on, aren't I you buddy, Harvey Longman?"

Soltaria glared at the man. Sure he looked normal, but he was giving off ominous vibes like the boogieman waiting on the prowl. To top that off, he had no reflection in the mirror behind him. All Soltaria knew then was that this guy tried to ambush her from behind on her way to check on Claire. But she was quick to realize whom he truly was after taking a glimpse of his powers and the amber slit eyes that glowed in the dark.

Soltaria huffed. "Long time no see, Loki Levin. All should I say… the Devil's Advocate?"

Harvey's form melted in the heat of burning fire, transforming him into a tall, slim man with black wings, long maroon hair and amber eyes. His face was sharply shaped with a pointy nose and thin lips painted with gothic make-up, dressed in a black fur coat and long leather boots.

"I see you have seen through my disguise."

Soltaria rolled her eyes. "I swear you haven't change a bit little baby bro."

Loki snapped. "Don't call me that! I'm not a kid any more, in fact, I'm freakin' taller than you already!"

"You may be taller, but you ain't getting smarter in disguising your aura signature…" Soltaria hurled a look of disturbance at his clothes. "…Or your fashion sense."

"It's Gothic Punk style!"

"It's sissy and why in the name of God are you wearing black lipstick in public?"

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP! I'm going to have my revenge today, and you ain't stopping me from exposing your mistakes to the world, while I bask in fame and glory!" He cackled and went in an infamous and diabolical laugh. "**BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA**!"

"Even your plans never changed…" Soltaria mumbled discreetly.

Loki pushed back the cuffs on his sleeves and flexed her fingers. Soltaria went into a mock-horror pose. "Oh what are you going to do now? Show off your black nail-polished fingernails with a skull paint on each of them?"

He smirked and gave her the finger. Soltaria gasped in shock.

"Oh no, you did **NOT **just gave me the finger."

Loki laughed maniacally and proceeded to firing fireballs at her, which she dodged with ease. As the fireballs hit the floor, setting the area ablaze, Ahsoka, Rex, Kit and Anakin came rushing into the scene.

"Guys! Get some water to put them out while I deal with this idiot!" Soltaria yelled.

"I'm not an IDIOT!" Loki flew up in the air and sent a fireball hurling at the SW characters, sending them running for cover. Kit used his force powers to grab some buckets and brought them out to the nearby pond, grabbing bucket after buckets of water to douse the fires.

"Skywalker! Captain Rex! Go find Claire and Senator Amidala! Ahsoka and I will take care of the fires," Kit said.

"Right!" The two men nodded, but before they knew it, music started to stream in. Curious, Anakin rushed to the left end of the back stage followed by Rex, and peered through the curtains. On the very stage in front of them, were Padme and the hooded dancer from before.

"Padme?" Anakin uttered in shock.

##########

The crowd was silent as Padme and I ran across the stage, only to halt as the spot light shone on us. A stage crewmember ran towards me, passing me a mike and a chair before running back to the backstage. I cursed silently as the music for '**One Less Lonely Girl**' by Justin Bieber began. '_Damn it! The guards aren't far behind!_'

I turned to Padme, who returned a puzzled look.

"I'm sorry, Padme. Do you trust me?" I asked.

"Erm... Sure, miss-"

'"Claire, Claire Aschlock."

She paused and then nodded. She sat on the chair that I placed on the stage and I held the mike, stepping towards the crowd. I took a deep breath, knowing I was going to regret this as I sang.

_There's gonna be one less lonely girl  
One less lonely girl  
There's gonna be one less lonely girl  
One less lonely girl_

I stepped back to where Padme sat and leaned next to her, resting my arm on the chair as I sang. I glanced to her and winked to play along.

_How many I told you's  
And start overs and shoulders  
Have you cried on before  
How many promises be honest girl  
How many tears you let hit the floor  
How many bags you packed  
Just to take 'em back, tell me that  
How many either or's  
But no more,  
If you let me inside of your world  
There'd be one less lonely girl_

I took her hand and led her to the stage, spinning her around and waltz with her. Padme was shocked at first, but soon got the idea and danced along, with me guiding her.

_Oh no  
I saw so many pretty faces  
Before I saw you, you  
Now all I see is you  
Oh no  
Don't need these other pretty faces  
'Cause when your mine in the world  
There's gonna be one less lonely girl  
One less lonely girl  
One less lonely girl  
One less lonely girl  
There's gonna be one less lonely girl  
I'm gonna put you first  
I'll show you what your worth  
If you let me inside your world  
There's gonna be one less lonely girl_

It was real embarrassing. Me, a girl disguised as a **guy** who was now taking the male lead… and actually dancing and singing with Padme, an **older woman**. Unfortunately, the crowd seemed to enjoy it and cheered louder as I bend Padme down and brought her back on her feet, continuing a slow dance. I swore I heard some wolf whistles and squealing girls.

_Christmas wasn't merry, 14th of February  
Not one of them spent with you  
How many dinner dates, set dinner plates  
And he didn't even touch his food  
How many torn photographs are you taping back  
Tell me that you couldn't see an open door  
But no more,  
If you let me inside of your world  
There'll be one less lonely girl  
Oh no  
I saw so many pretty faces  
Before I saw you, you  
Now all I see is you  
Oh no  
Don't need these other pretty faces  
'Cause when your mine in the world  
There's gonna be one less lonely girl  
One less lonely girl  
One less lonely girl  
One less lonely girl  
There's gonna be one less lonely girl  
I'm gonna put you first  
I'll show you what your worth  
If you let me inside your world  
There's gonna be one less lonely girl_

The bulky guards from before finally appeared from the right of the stage and I instinctively kicked the chair down and let a guard trip over it. I took Padme's hand and gave a sort of 'loving' gaze.

_I can fix up your broken heart  
I can give you a brand new start  
I can make you believe,  
I just wanna set one girl free to fall_

One of the guards got up and Padme elbowed him in the gut, jumping on him and landing on his bulging stomach.

_She's free to fall  
With me_

On cue, I pounced on the guard and he gave a loud 'Oof!' sound as both our weights take a huge toll on him. After knocking him unconscious, I stood up and helped Padme up to her feet.

_My hearts locked and nowhere to get the key  
I'll take her and leave this world  
With one less lonely girl  
There's gonna be one less lonely girl  
One less lonely girl  
There's gonna be one less lonely girl  
One less lonely girl_

_Yaaaah_

_I'm gonna put you first  
I'll show you what your worth  
If you let me inside your world  
There's gonna be one less lonely girl  
One less lonely girl_

_Yaaaah_

_One less lonely girl_

_Yaaaah_

_I'm gonna put you first  
I'll show you what your worth  
If you let me inside your world  
There's gonna be one less lonely girl_

The audience soon cheered when the song was over and Padme and I bowed with a smile on our faces. All of a sudden I felt someone grabbed my hand and pulled me away, followed by Padme. The crowd roared with laughter upon my disappearance while I came face to face with Anakin backstage.

"What the hell did you think you were doing with Padme?" Anakin hissed, clenching the collar of my hoodie in his fist.

"What-?"

"She's not yours, you hear me? She doesn't belong to you!" His tone was filled with much jealousy.

"Anakin."

"Who do you think you are trying to make a move on her like that?"

"Anakin."

"I mean, you just a kid and she's waaayyy too old for you-"

"ANAKIN!"

"What?!"

I pulled the hoodie down and Anakin released me in shock. "Oh the Force…"

"Yeah, It's me," I replied passively.

"You're homo?!" He almost shrieked.

"What- No! I'm straight for Christ's sake!" My face reddened and I slapped Anakin's head upside. "OW!" He yelled.

Rex just stared at me, looking ready to faint after my performance. "Were you that same…"

I nodded and he replied with an 'Oh'.

Out of the blue, Soltaria and the other SW character rushed in, along with a goth punk with black wings and maroon hair appeared.

"Whose the clown in black?" I asked.

"It's Goth punk style! GOTH!" The weirdo was obviously insulted.

"That would be my psychotic bro with vengeance issues," Soltaria remarked casually.

Her brother was about to retort when he noticed me among the crowd and smirked menancingly. A red glow formed around his hands. "How about some fireworks, Claire Aschlock?"

I was stunned. In a flash, arrays of fireballs shot out from his fingertips and set the whole stage on fire. The audience from outside screamed and ran off as the fire spread around the park. The Goth Fallen Angel let out a scream.

"No! Stop! I order you to come back!"

But the audience were to busy fleeing from the burning raging fire and whatever his plan was had burned to crisp in failure. Fire engulfed most of the stage and I found myself rooted to the ground as the fearsome flames surrounded me. Fear was taking over me.

'Oh God… Not now…'

############

_14 years ago…_

"Daddy! Mummy!" I coughed and choked as the smoke entered my nose. My lungs were gasping for air, while my whole body felt like it was on fire. Flames of ferocity and greed, engulfing everything in its path, surrounded the ballet studio I was trapped in. Trapped under rubble and debris, my body refused to budge, searing pain shot through it like an arrow through Achilles' heel.

"Somebody! Help me!" I cried. Moans and screams howled in the unholy hour from the collapsing building. The fire sinisterly sauntered and I tried to move back, but to no avail. There was no escape. There was absolutely nowhere to hide from the deadly flames of Hell approaching me, licking my right leg and burning the soft flesh surrounding it. I screamed in agony as the fire left its mark on my leg.

All of a sudden, the door was broken down and a shadowy firefighter barged into the room and hauled the rubble off my small, fragile and weak body. The man swept me off my feet and held me in his arms, comforting me with soft hushes and whispers as he courageously dash through the walls of fire.

He didn't care if his clothes caught fire.

He didn't care if he was getting burned.

Hell, he didn't care if he was going to die. Just rushed headlong through storms of fire and rubble to het me to safety, like a knight in shining armor.

Harsh cries were replaced with soft whimpers as I realized who my savior was.

"Daddy…"

##########

"Claire! Claire!"

I opened my eyes slowly to meet the visor of Rex. Tears brimmed in my eyes; a warm emotion seeped into my heart.

"Rex..." I whispered softly as my hand reached his helmet and stroke the side of it. My eyes widened in horror as I saw the many burns on his armor and patches of ash on his helmet. Rex looked away in embarrassment.

"Rex, don't tell me you… got yourself burned when you saved me…"

Rex let his eyes dart around nervously. "Well, you were kind of literally trapped in a ring of fire."

I whacked his helmet upside. "Ow! What was that for?"

"You idiot! You could have gotten hurt for real!" I scolded.

"It's nothing really…"

"No, it's not!"

"Seriously, I have taken worse. You don't have to be so worried about me."

"Of course I have to be worried! Damn it, Rex! Can't you see that I-" I stopped myself halfway through my sentence, realizing that I had almost blurted out a confession. My face turned to a shade of cherry red.

Rex stared at me in surprise while Grievous grumbled. "I swear the sight of you two makes me want to puke."

Rex and I glared at him, while Soltaria arrived and dusted the tracker on her pants. When she saw me, she immediately pounced on me. "Claire-Bear!"

Pulled into yet a suffocating hug, I winced as she rambled on about how worried she was. The SW characters have helped clear up the fire and mess after Soltaria's brother's apparent rampage. When I asked her about the Goth Clown, she told me that Bailey had sent some of the security angels to escort him and his cronies back to be dealt with in Heaven's Court.

"Hopefully he can get some therapy too," I smugly replied.

"Hope so." Soltaria agreed. "Loki was kind of the mess-up one in the family and very competitive in sibling rivalry. Honestly, he hasn't changed in both his immaturity, but he has grown more crafty and powerful over the past centuries."

"How did he get captured again?" I asked.

"Let's just say he managed to snag the tracker, but knocked himself out with the memory eraser function."

"What about Padme?"

Rex looked over to Anakin, who was going in his overprotective lover mode with her. "That scum didn't hurt you right? Are you sure you're not hungry?" And those were among the many questions he had fire at her out of concern.

Ahsoka excitedly cut in. "You should have seen Rex! He could have sent that guy light years of pain if Cody and Kit hadn't restrain him."

"But why?"

"Didn't Soltaria said that he was the one who caused that fire you experienced when you were two-" Ahsoka covered her mouth as I stared at her in shock. "Oops."

I turned to Rex, who refused to look at me straight in the eye. "Did you hit him hard?"

Rex hesistated with his answer. "... Yeah."

I smiled warmly. "Thanks."

Even without X-Ray vision, Ahsoka and I could tell that he was blushing madly inside his helmet.

"I'll head over to Cody first…" He struggled with his words and headed for the van.

As I watched him walk away, Ahsoka gave a playful nudge at my shoulder.

"I may not be able to use my force-mind tricks now, but I can tell that he's crushing on you big time."

By then, I couldn't help but blush madly and smile shyly to myself.

############

"You know, you could have just told her how you feel."

"Shut up, Cody," Rex muttered.

"Awwwwww… looks like big and tough Rex has a crush!"

Rex elbowed Cody, who laughed as they reached the van.

"Well if you don't get it over with, someone else might steal her from you," Cody joked.

"Like who?"

Right after Cody finished his sentence, hordes of fangirls (and fan boys) came out of their hiding from the bushes in the park. One of them pointed to Claire and squealed in excitement. "There he is! Get him!"

Within seconds, Claire was up on her feet and sprinting out of the park to the road far ahead with numerous squealing fans on her tail.

"Aw MAN! I'm going to resort in hiding in trash cans for weeks!" She moaned loudly before disappearing in the distance.

As she disappeared in the distance, Soltaria walked by Rex and Cody.

"She'll come back home," She assured.

And as the saying goes, with fame, riches and talent, comes the dream and nightmare of many celebrities: Fans.

#############

xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: Argh! My fingers are about to crack, but at least the chapter is done. Too bad I don't own the songs in here though…

Obi Wan: Before we end, can I ask a question?

xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: Sure.

Obi Wan: Why is Soltaria the only one who didn't enter the talent show, while we all have to suffer?

SW characters: (Murmurs and mutters amongst themselves)

Claire: Now that you mention it, Soltaria told me once that she used to sing Operas years ago.

Everyone: (Stares at Soltaria suspiscously)

Soltaria: Ok, I admit I was quite famous there…

xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: Until you sang so high pitched in one of your performances that you brought down a chandelier on the audience in the front row. They were seriously injured, including the VIPs.

Dooku: And so marks the end of her solo career.

Soltaria: (Glares at Dooku) You had better shut up before I stop giving you hot cross buns and premium Black Tea.

Dooku: (Horrified) NO! Anything but my delicious hot cross buns and Black Tea!

Grievous: (Glances to Claire and xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx) Are you sure she hasn't turned to the Dark Side?

xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: Nope. Please review and hope you enjoyed the story! Look out for Chapter 6! No flames!


	6. Toys, Boys and Joys

**Chapter 6: Toys, Boys and Joys**

_Previously: At a talent show in Red Waters Park hosted by a client of Soltaria, the gang gets caught up in a skit, dancing and singing. Finding a kidnapped Padme, Soltaria's psycho brother and Claire's secrets on the stage were all the ingredients needed for one heck of a party and fight in one day. Meanwhile, Claire starts to feel Rex's love for her…_

xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: (Sings) Jingle Bells! Jingle Bells! Jingle all the way~!

Anakin: What the Force is she singing?

xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: (Sings and puts up Christmas deco in room) Oh What fun it is to run in a one horse open sleigh~ Hey!

Rex: Has she finally lost it?

Claire: Nah, she's just preparing for Christmas.

Padme: Christmas? Is it some sort of festival?

xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: I will tell you once someone does the disclaimer… GRIEVOUS!

Grievous: (Storms in) WHAT DO YOU WANT, YOU IMPUDENT BRAT?

xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: (Points to kitchen) Get Dooku here to do the damn disclaimer with you before he eats up all of my Christmas cookies!

Grievous: And if I don't?

xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: (Takes out light saber) I'll decimate your remains, feed them to lava and tell the Sith Emperor that you committed suicide because you couldn't stand his ugliness.

Grievous: (Stares at author as if she had just told him that his ex-wives came back from the dead, and are ready to skewer him.)

xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: Well what are you waiting for? Chinese New Year?

Grievous: (Grumbles and dragged Dooku, who still had a cookie in his mouth, out of the kitchen)

Dooku: Grievous! Put me down before I-

xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: (Glares at Dooku)

Dooku: …What must we do?

xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: Disclaimer. NOW.

Grievous & Dooku: xXHiKaRi_ShIrOuXx does not own anything from star wars clone wars and whatever star wars franchise that exists. She owns nothing in her fanfics, but her OC, Claire Aschlock. Soltaria Levin belongs to a friend of hers.

Everyone else: 0_o

Kit: Most impressive.

xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: (Grins) Now onto the story! XD

#############

The streets were covered with snow, much like the rooftops of many buildings. In an alley, a small-cloaked figure walked along the snow-covered road, clutching a bag of food close to his chest. A small tabby kitten walked out of an empty cardboard box. Upon noticing a familiar face, the thin cat approached the figure, purring and meowing as it rubbed its body against the figure's leg. The figure chuckled and took out a small fish from his bag, gently feeding it to the half-starved creature. The cloaked figure petted the small kitten's head and gazed up to the sky.

It soon began to snow again.

#############

"Aw! Now this is so cute!" Soltaria cooed, pointing to a picture in my old photo album.

The SW characters stared at the picture of my 4 year old self with a Santa clause hat, a yellow scarf tied around my neck, a red-checkered jacket, a matching skirt and boots, before sighing a long "Awwwww" in unison. I groaned.

"Soltaria… Will you stop showing them my baby pictures?"

"But you were so cute and cuddly like a care bear then!" She whined.

I cringed at the nickname. "You don't see me having a white round tummy or a big red heart stamped on it, do you?"

Everyone else ignored me and Soltaria turned another page to reveal more embarrassing pictures of me. Another long "awwww" was drawn out from the crowd.

"Now that looks cute," Anakin snickered at the picture of little me wearing a Winnie The Pooh costume on Halloween.

"GUYS!"

Rex gave an apologetic look. "Right, sorry Claire."

"Oh my goodness! That's so adorable!" Ahsoka cried out at the picture of me in a white angel costume. It was from a Christmas play back in Kindergarten.

Padme agreed with a smile. "She looks like a cute little doll…"

Even Rex couldn't help but take another peek by then. Embarrassment was boiling in my veins and streaks of red swept across my face.

"You have such a huge collection of Claire's photos," Ahsoka whispered in awe.

"Oh I just love the memories of my Claire-Bear."

My eye twitched in seething embarrassment.

Soltaria then closed the book and got up. "I'm going out to shop for presents! Who wants to come along?"

Anakin backed away from her instantly. "I'm NOT riding on that vile vehicle again!"

Obi Wan shrugged. "I suppose it won't hurt."

"Then count me in!" Kit said.

"I'll go too."

Anakin turned to Padme in shock. "Padme, NO! You won't survive in that-that-that THING!"

Padme frowned. "Honestly, Anakin, you have such a wild imagination of a child. I'll be fine."

"But Padme!"

"No buts," She said. "Besides I need to do some shopping too."

"For what?"

She rolled her eyes. "Girls stuff."

Anakin paused until it slowly sank in. "Oh."

Ahsoka and I snickered. Boys will be Boys…

"But why do you need presents for?" Cody asked.

Grievous coughed. "Bah… useless…"

For a minute, Grievous reminded me of the miser from the tale: "The Ghosts of Christmas Past." 'And I thought he was going to say humbug…' I giggled at the thought.

"What's so funny, Miss Aschlock?" Grievous threw a threatening glare at my direction.

I couldn't help but burst out laughing, rolling on the floor and clutching my stomach. Worried, Rex rushed over to my side, but Grievous beat him to the punch. He grabbed me by the collar and held me in the air.

"Stop laughing, you insolent brat!" He demanded.

The laughing slowed down and I gave a goofy grin. "For a general, you aren't as smart as I thought you were."

Grievous threw me onto the couch and curled his metal talons around my neck tightly.

"Claire!" Rex grabbed his blasters and aimed it at Grievous.

"I order you to stop mocking me and tell me what's so funny… Or I'll crush that fragile neck of yours!"

I choked, but still kept a beaming smile on my face.

"I forgot… that you guys don't know Christmas…"

Grievous stared at me, confused. Rex was about to shoot Grievous when Dooku suddenly appeared and stormed towards the droid general, smacking his head upside in fury. Grievous howled in surprise and released his grip on me.

"My lord! Why are you-"

Before we knew it, Dooku had fired a bolt of Force Lightning at Grievous, paralyzing him as electricity coursed through his entire body. The droid general's eyes widened in shock before rolling behind his sockets and landing on the floor with a loud thud. He was unconscious and .

"How dare you hurt my grand niece, you insolent slave!" Dooku scolded.

Everyone contemplated the situation in silence, before Kit interrupted with a question.

"So why do you keep the photos of Claire, Soltaria?"

"Because she's cute and innocent as a kid! And recently, I found out that I could sell them for billions of US dollars on EBay."

My eyes bulged out of their sockets at her words and I mashed my teeth together in boiling anger. "YOU DID WHAT?" I screeched.

Soltaria became nervous. "Erm, so anyways… Claire, I shall leave the house and its residents in your command. See ya!"

Just before I could retort, Soltaria had rushed Obi Wan, Kit and Padme into the van outside, slammed the door shut and sped off onto the main road. Seconds later, there was plenty of screeching from rubber tires and screaming from the neighbors.

"Great…" I mumbled stupidly in defeat and wheeled around to face the remaining residents of the house.

Now what to do with three sane SW characters, a buffoon, a general and an old dude who forgets stuff every ten seconds?

###########

At a pet store, a puppy was panting and wagging its tail excitedly, placing its paws against the window to greet the passing small, cloaked figure. The little stranger placed his hand against the glass window and smiled at the cute beagle puppy. His clothes were slightly tattered and wet from the snow, for he had been wandering around the streets for quite some time, looking for shelter, more food and water. Penniless and lost, the stranger sighed, envious of the puppy's sheltered life.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

The stranger turned around to see passer-bys screaming and dodging a speeding van on the main road. Tires screeched as the van sped away in the speed of light, avoiding cars and motorcycles on the road.

"That's it! I'm taking the wheel!" A female voice rang out.

"Hell no! I'm driving this thing just fine!" Another female voice snapped.

"Soltaria! LOOK OUT!" This time, a familiar male voice yelled. The stranger watched the van crash through a roadblock and collided with traffic cones.

"We're going to meet our DOOOOMMMM!"

"WHHHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

"WHHEEEEE?!"

As soon as the van disappeared into the traffic jam and almost collided with a tow-truck, the stranger shook his head in dismay.

"Reckless, they are," He murmured.

###########

"So Christmas is about giving presents to others and celebrating with… Santa Clause?" Cody asked.

"Sort of," I replied. The SW characters have gathered around in the living room, discussing about random stuff. Grievous had also woken up from his shock and kept glancing at Dooku with suspicion, wondering if the great Sith Lord had switched sides.

"What does he look like?" Ahsoka asked.

I rested my chin on my hand. "Well, he's big in size, wears red, holds a sack of presents for kids and has white hair and a beard."

"Like Dooku?"

At Anakin's statement, everyone averted his or her gaze to Dooku, who was humming some random tune.

"If he's anything like Dooku, I'm going to have second thoughts of getting my present," Rex muttered.

I peered closer at Dooku. 'Well, he does have white hair and a white beard like Santa…minus the evil aura, amnesia and all…'

Minutes ticked by and a pregnant silence filled the room. For some odd reason, Grievous and Ahsoka were having a staring competition, Rex and Cody were polishing their blasters, Anakin was busy lazing on the couch and Dooku was humming another damn random song.

"So how's life?" I asked Rex.

He stared at me, and sighed. "Fine… I guess."

Anakin let out a long yawn. "I'm bored."

Everyone agreed with a nod, a sigh or a groan. And here I was, figuring out what to do next. Dooku began to hum louder and by then, Grievous lost it.

"JUST SHUT UP!" He roared.

Dooku's humming was immediately subdued and I got an idea.

"Let's play Truth or Dare!"

Everyone stared at me suddenly, as if I just ate a turkey alive.

"What's that?" Ahsoka asked.

"It's a game in which everyone sits in a circle and one person must spin a…" I turned to Anakin. "Can I borrow your light saber?"

"Sure, I guess- HEY!"

I snatched it from his belt and placed it on the floor. "One person spins this and whoever it points to, he or she needs to pick Truth Or Dare. If you pick truth, the spinner gets to ask you a question…"

"Like if General Kenobi has a girl friend?" Rex joked.

"Speak for yourself…" Cody muttered.

I laughed. "Yup, and he or she must answer it truthfully. But if you pick dare, the spinner can dare the person to do anything."

Ahsoka's eyes beamed. "Anything?"

"Anything."

Everyone whispered to each other in awe, but Grievous snorted. "Childish."

"What's the matter, Grievous? Too chicken to try?" Anakin sneered.

Grievous' head snapped to his direction and glowered. "You would wish you have regretted saying that."

Now this was going to interesting.

############

The cloaked stranger continued walking across the snowy road, trying to beat the harsh cold, bitter wind. His teeth grinded against each other as the cold bit at his tattered clothes and wrinkled skin.

"S-S-Shelter… F-F-Find it… I-I must…" His teeth chattered.

Alas, he saw a house with brightly lit windows and a trail of gray smoke rising from the chimney. The stranger felt his spirits lifted.

"T-Thank the Force… I-I must… R-Request for s-s-shelter, I-I can…"

However, as he neared the house, the stranger noticed a shady figure attempting to climb onto the roof of the house. The little cloaked stranger saw the thief snicker as he climbed to the chimney and sensed a dark disturbance in the Force.

"D-Danger…" He stuttered. "N-N-Not l-let him near… I m-must."

############

"Ok, I'll start!" I said, and spun the light saber, which rotated and finally stopped at Grievous. "Truth or Dare?"

"Truth," He growled.

I smiled. "Wise choice." And then smirked. "How many wives and children do you have in total?"

"No offense Claire, but I don't think Big ol' Clanker has any," Rex laughed.

"Ten wives and thirty children."

Everyone, except Dooku who remained passive (He was busy listening to my radio player and won't stop humming random songs), stared at Grievous in shock. Rex seemed ready to puke, Ahsoka was disgusted, Cody was speechless and Anakin… well, was probably going to have nightmares for a looong time.

"You mean… Aw man! Thirty times?!" Anakin exclaimed.

"It was natural in my race to have many wives and children. Ten was considered a small number," Grievous coolly replied.

I regretted asking the question when the mental image formed in my head. Who knew that Grievous could be such a… womanizer?

"Ten? **Small**?" Anakin was ready to faint.

"I think I'm going to puke…" Rex gulped.

"Okaaaay! Grievous, your turn to spin!" Ahsoka interrupted, not wanting a puke fest to begin. For once, I couldn't agree more.

He did so, and the light saber spun for five consecutive minutes before finally pointing to Anakin.

"Truth or da-"

"DARE!" Anakin blurted out without thinking.

Bad move. I could sense Grievous smirking behind his mask by now.

"I want you to put 20 ice cubes down your pants until they melt."

Anakin gagged. "But it's cold and snowing!"

Grievous cackled. "What's the matter Skywalker? Are you scared?"

Anakin huffed, shot up from his seat and marched towards the kitchen. After a few minutes, a high-pitched scream was heard.

"MOTHER OF PEANUTS!"

The SW characters and I roared with laughter as he returned with shivering legs and sat down onto the floor with a wince and chattering teeth.

"Cold, Skyguy?" Ahsoka grinned.

I was clutching my stomach and banging my fist on the floor and Rex was struggling to sit straight. Even Grievous laughed diabolically, only to enter a coughing fit. "H-H-Haha… V-V-V-Very f-f-f-funny," Anakin spoke sarcastically through his chattering teeth.

He took the light saber and spun it, only to have it point at Cody. Rex elbowed Cody at the ribs. "What?"

He pointed to the light saber. "Oh shoot, my turn already?"

"Yup," I said, and patted his shoulders. "Good luck, because Anakin's in a cold and baaaaaad mood."

Cody gulped as he met face to face with a smirking Anakin. "Truth or Dare?"

"Erm… Dare?"

Ahsoka stared at him in surprise. "Weren't you paying attention to what happened to Skyguy?"

"Not really, I was busy thinking about something else, why?"

"Because I can bet you that he's got something nasty up his sleeves," Rex sniggered to his pal. "And believe me, it isn't going to be scrubbing floors or shoving ice down your pants."

"Rex!" Anakin growled.

"Sorry, sir."

Cody blinked behind his visor. "So what must I do General Skywalker?"

Anakin smirked darkly. "Claire, do you have anything that can reach Soltaria?"

"There's phone in the living room for a reason, Anakin."

"Good, because I dare Cody to call Soltaria, ask for Obi Wan and dare him to kiss her."

Rex and Ahsoka laughed out loud. If it weren't for the helmet, Cody's jaw would be hitting the floor right now, hard. "General Kenobi? Sir, are you insane?"

"Nope! Claire get Soltaria now."

"B-B-But I thought Jedi can't have attachments!" Cody stuttered in panic.

I went over to the table and grabbed the handheld phone. "Well since you guys are not in the world of Star Wars… Screw the rules!"

Cody slumped his shoulders and bowed his head down in defeat as I dialed Soltaria's number. I held the phone to Cody. "It's all yours and on loudspeaker for us to hear."

Cody gulped, muttering something about Obi Wan going to fry his ass for this. Everyone watched Cody's reaction in anticipation for the call.

_Ring… Ring… Ring…_

"Hello?" Obi Wan's voice was heard and everyone tried hard not to laugh.

Cody cleared his throat shakily. "General Kenobi… erm, this is Cody. May I ask where Soltaria is?"

"She's busy at the moment trying to get R2-D2 out of some containment machine."

"Skywalker's droid?" It took three of the gang to hold down Anakin before he could yank the phone from Cody. Rex and Grievous held him down by the legs, while Ahsoka sat on his back.

"Sorry Anakin," I whispered, and shoved a pair of socks into his mouth.

Then Dooku suddenly sang, "Kidnap my Heart" by The Click Five aloud.

"You kidnap my HEART… TAKE ME WITH YOU~!"

I quickly knocked him out with a cushion and gagged him with a gingerbread cookie leftover from last night.

"What was that?" Obi Wan asked.

Cody glanced over to me, unsure of what to say.

"Just make an excuse!" I mouthed the words to him softly.

"Erm… That? That was just the radio, Sir. You were saying about the droid?"

"Oh yes, Padme and Soltaria were shopping for some gifts in a gift store when Kit spotted it being shipped away into a truck and headed to a shopping mall. Tell Anakin that we pursued it and are trying to retrieve it at the moment."

"Roger that, Sir."

He was about to put down the phone when Rex reminded him of the dare.

"Oh, and sir?"

"Yes Cody?"

Cody paused, gulped big time, and took a deep breath.

"I've been dared to dare you to kiss Soltaria."

There was a long pause before Obi Wan exclaimed. "WHAT? That's absurd!"

I took the phone from Cody and whispered softly, "Obi Wan… Do you want me to expose your secret affair to the others?"

"What are you talking about?"

I grinned mischievously. "Remember your girlfriend, Duchess Satine?"

There was an awful long pause upon hearing my words.

"Or do you prefer your 'obsession' with Asaji Ventress?"

Another uncomfortable long pause followed.

"Soooo… What's it going to be?"

Obi Wan was hesistating with his words. "But… Jedi can't-"

"Heck with the rules! Just kiss her damn it!" Ahsoka yelled.

Everyone stared at her, blinking and completely speechless.

"I mean… erm…" Ahsoka blushed and her eyes dropped down to the floor.

"Relax, kid," Rex said.

"Yeah, chill. He'll do it," I assured her with a grin. '_Hopefully…_'

########

Soltaria, who was trying to lift R2-D2 with the claw in the machine when it dropped the poor droid again.

"Damn it! He's just too heavy!" Soltaria yelled in exasperation, muttering curses under her breath.

Padme emptied her wallet to find only one silver coin left in her palm. "This is our last one."

"Why can't we just open up the machine and-"

"NO!" Soltaria turned to face Kit with a deadly glare. "I don't want another huge bill at my doorstep! Please! Is breaking stuff the only thing you guys know how to do?!"

Kit almost shriveled on the bench at her furious form. "I… I was just offering a suggestion," his lips quivered in fear.

Obi Wan came back from the shelf he was observing and walked towards Soltaria.

"There you are, Obi Wan! So who was on the line just now?" Soltaria asked.

Then, to Soltaria's shock, he yanked her arm and pulled her into a deep kiss.

"Majfbggalkg!" Her eyes widended and she flapped her arms non-stop.

Kit fell out of his seat, while Padme gasped. Obi Wan pressed his lips against Soltaria's own softly and gently, and every known emotion known to men filled up Soltaria's head. In mindless anger and shock, Soltaria slapped Obi Wan hard across his cheek.

"YOU PERVERT!" She screamed.

##########

I silently listened to the screaming and yelling from the phone, straining my ears to make out for any words from the noise, but all I could get was…

Kick.

Punch.

"Obi Wan!" Kit screamed.

Toss.

Whack.

Scream.

"Oh the Force! My legs!" Obi Wan cried out in pain.

Slap! Slap! Slap! Slap!

Wham!

Thud!

"Wha- What are you doing?!" Padme yelled.

Punch. Kick. Punch.

Thwack.

Scream.

"No! No! No! NO!"

Whack! Kick! Kick!

Scream.

"Not there! Anywhere but the- ARRGGGHHHHHHH!"

A fear-stricken Anakin was clinging onto Grievous shakily. "H-H-H-Hold m-m-m-meeeee!" He cried.

Ahsoka hid behind me while Rex held me tight.

"Oh GOD, she's a monster!" Cody declared.

Dooku, whose ears were protected with earplugs, went on singing again. This time I recognized it as "The Sailor Song" by Toy-Box.

"SO IF WE ALL COME TOGETHER! We know what to do! We all come together just to say WE LOVE YOU!"

"My EARS…" Ahsoka grimaced. My ears were ready to bleed from Dooku's tone-deafness anytime.

"CAN SOMEONE JUST SHUT HIM UP?" Rex yelled.

Grievous took a lamp and whacked him from behind, rendering the Count unconscious.

"Thank you!" I yelled.

"No problem."

So the phone was switched off and we resume our game while leaving a Dooku asleep on the couch.

"So whose turn is it now?" I asked.

"That would be Cody," Rex said.

And so Cody took the light saber and spun it. It stopped at Rex.

"Oh Crap."

Cody smirked behind his helmet. "Truth or Dare, Rex."

Pondering over his choices and what happened earlier, Rex decided to go for the safe option. "Truth."

There was a tense atmosphere between him and Cody as the clone with yellow stripes asked, "Do you have a massive crush on one of the girls here?"

Rex looked ready to strangle him. "What… I erm… Well…"

He cast a careful glance at me, and I just tilted my head to the side, watching Rex as he looked away in embarrassment.

Finally, he reluctantly admitted it. "…Yes."

Everyone gasped and the guys looked curiously from Ahsoka to me.

"WHO?" Anakin asked, earning a scornful look from Rex and a snigger from Cody.

"Hey, hey, hey! One question per spin!" I said.

Rex spun the light saber with much hatred, mumbling about plotting revenge against Cody later. The light saber then landed on Ahsoka.

"So commander, Truth or Dare?"

"Well, I guessed its truth for me," She smiled.

Rex sighed in disappointment, but soon perked up. "What was the meanest prank you have ever played?"

Ahsoka pondered over her thoughts. "Hmm… I didn't really…"

Everyone eyed her suspiciously and Ahsoka sighed.

"Okay, once. During a mission in Geonosis, I took Skyguy's parachute pack and wrote "Shoot Me" on the parachute canopy before handing it back to him."

Anakin was aghast. "N-N-No wonder I k-k-k-kept getting s-s-shot a-at by the e-e-e-enemies in t-t-the air. Y-Y-You made m-me a f-f-f-floating t-target bib!"

"Sorry…" Ahsoka gave a weak smile.

"S-S-Snips! H-How c-could y-you?" He played a pained expression on his face.

Grievous rolled his eyes and snorted. "Enough of the drama act, you prissy insect."

Anakin glared at Grievous. "W-W-Who a-a-are y-you c-calling p-prissy, T-T-Tin C-C-Can!"

While Anakin and Grievous tussled with each other, Ahsoka spun the light saber. I watched the metal rod spin around and around until it slowed down at my direction.

"Finally…" I threw my hands in the air, getting tired from waiting for my turn.

"Ok Claire, will it be Truth or Dare."

Feeling brave, I decided to risk it all for the sake of Christmas. "Dare."

Ahsoka grinned, and I was beginning to regret my reckless choice.

"I dare you to kiss a guy who you like in this room. On the lips."

Every guy halted at what they were doing and I blushed red. All of a sudden, Dooku shot up from his slumber and began singing again.

"Only yoooooou~ Can make this World seem rigghhttt- aljsnglbgabrw!"

Cody gagged again Dooku with the sock that he spat out earlier and I blushed intensely. "Fine, but everyone must close their eyes."

"But then we won't get to see who you kiss!" Anakin whined.

"That's kind of the point."

"Ok! All those with helmets, please remove them!" Ahsoka said.

The clones did likewise and everyone resumed their positions in the circle and closed their eyes. From the corner of my eye, Anakin opened one eye for a peek.

"And NO peeking!" I insisted.

Anakin closed his eyes shut and grumbled. After one final glance, I tiptoed to Rex and knelt in front of him. Every feature of his face had remained flawless since that night I sleepwalked into his room by accident. I blushed at the faint memory of his face so close against mine on one of those nights. Rex's chest rise as his breathed and my heart thumped loudly in my chest.

I had never felt so nervous in my life.

Slowly, I leaned towards his face and let the tip of our noses touch. For a brief moment, Rex breathed in deeply, as if he was inhaling my scent. Slowly, I closed my eyes and leaned my face closer towards his, brushing my lips against his before planting a delicate kiss on his lips. Rex gasped and I silenced him by pulling him into a deeper kiss.

'_So embarrassing… So embarrassing…_' My inner chibi self recited in my head repeatedly.

But I didn't stop, until Rex suddenly wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into a passionate and DEEP kiss.

'_Aykfycxruyrlylvujhkxmukpoph__!_' That was all I could think of when Rex kissed me. Panic flooded my entire being and I quickly pushed him off me before falling onto the floor.

Rex opened his eyes in surprise and we stared at each other.

"Whoa," The both of us gasped.

#########

"Finally! We're back!" Kit cheered, as the van stopped outside the house.

"Obi Wan… if you pull a stun like that again…" Soltaria whipped around to glare at a mortally injured Obi Wan. "I swear you will get more than broken bones."

"Believe me, I won't do that again," Obi Wan winced.

Suddenly, the tracker in Soltaria's pocket beeped non-stop. "Huh? Here? But where-"

"Look there!" Padme pointed to the rooftop of the house.

Everyone turned to the roof to find a small-cloaked figure fending off a masked burglar.

"Go find another house to rob, you twerp!" The burglar yelled.

"Harm this house, you shall not. Defeat you, I shall."

The masked man clenched his fists and charged towards the stranger, in an attempt to lunge at him. In a flash, the little figure raised his hand and the burglar found himself floating in mid-air.

"What the Hell?" The burglar muttered in disbelief.

With a swift movement of his hand, the burglar was sent pummeling down into the snowy road miles and miles away from the house. Soltaria, Obi Wan, Padme and Kit gaped as the tiny stranger floated to the ground from the roof. He gazed up to see Obi Wan and Kit's faces and smiled warmly.

"Kenobi and Fisto… Nice to see you again, it is," The stranger greeted.

#########

While playing a few more rounds of Truth and Dare, the door opened to reveal Soltaria and the others with new friends.

"Yo guys! Look who we found!"

R2-D2 zoomed into the house, beeping happily as it found Anakin and Ahsoka.

"R2!" Anakin exclaimed and the droid was caught in a group hug. R2 turned around beeping happily and I bent down to its level, patting its head.

"How did you get it out of that claw machine?" I asked.

Soltaria grinned. "We cheated."

"With the help of the Force!" Kit smiled his famous cute smile.

"Padme! You're safe!" Anakin ran towards her and hugged her.

Obi Wan waved his hand to him. "Anakin, I'm still alive. Thank you very much."

A tiny-cloaked stranger stepped into the house and gazed at his surroundings curiously. "Fine home, this is… Soltaria."

I gasped as I recognized his voice. "Oh my GOD! It's **YODA**!"

Yoda took off his cloak and smiled his wise old smile. "Greetings, friend of Soltaria."

"Erm, It's Claire. Claire Aschlock," I smiled.

Yoda seemed stunned for a brief moment. "Aschlock… familiar that name is…"

"You know her, Master Yoda?" Kit asked.

Yoda chuckled. "Never mind… all in the past, it is. Tired I am, now."

Everyone gave Yoda a warm welcome and we celebrated a Christmas with sing-a-longs, presents and stuffing ourselves with turkey and cake. Hours later, the night came and we retired to our rooms. While bidding each other good night, I felt a long lost happiness inside me.

I realized what it was like to have a family again.

#########

Opening the door to my room, I was startled to find Rex standing behind the door with something in his hand.

"Oh, erm, sorry… I wanted to check on you, but you were…"

"It's ok," I said, glancing to the arm he was hiding behind his back. "What are you hiding?"

"It's nothing-"

"Come on…"

Rex awkwardly held out the object to me and I gasped. It was delicately wrapped mistletoe.

"I didn't know what to…well give to you…" He fumbled. "But Soltaria said that this would be a great Christmas present for you…"

An anime sweatdrop fell from my forehead. '_Soltaria actually planned this?_'

I hesitantly took the mistletoe from Rex.

"Thank you Rex… But do you know what are mistletoes for in Christmas?"

"No… what are they for?" He asked nervously and innocently.

I smiled awkwardly and gave a peck on his lips. Rex was stunned in momentary silence.

"For that."

Rex was struggling for words now, his face turning to a shade of red and pink. I giggled, but by then, I realized something.

They'll be going back to their world soon… and these might be our last days together…

I gazed down sadly to the floor and he saw my sadness. "What's wrong?"

I bit my lip and tried to turn away, but Rex gripped me by the shoulders. "Tell me," He said.

"We can't…" I sniffed, fresh tears streamed down my face. "We can't be together…"

"Was it something that I did? Was it the present?" He asked desperately.

"No! You'll be returning to your world soon! We'll be separated!" I cried.

I sobbed uncontrollably while Rex stood beside me silently. "I don't want you to go… but you need to return to your world… to fight the war…"

Tears continued to fall to the ground and my shoulders shook terribly.

"I'll just distract you…"

I had to let him go.

"I don't want you to feel sad because of me."

Even though I loved him.

We stood in uncomfortable silence, until Rex sighed.

"You idiot."

It all happened so fast then. I felt a yank on my arm and, the clone commander pulled me into a fierce hug. I stood still, stunned in his embrace as he whispered to me softly.

"We'll always be together, even if we were separated."

I blinked and Rex pulled me away to wipe the tears from my face. "Why?" I dumbly asked.

He smiled and leaned his forehead against mine.

"Because I love you. I can't get rid of you that easily in my head."

I stared at him, emotions overwhelmed my entire being and warmth seeped into my abdomen. My heart pounded furiously as he tipped my chin up to meet his gaze.

"I love you, Rex," I whispered.

"I love you too, Claire."

Before I knew it, his lips brushed against mine. All I remembered was how warm his arms were, wrapped around my waist and the touch of his sweet lips.

##############

Anakin: WAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH! (Blows nose with tissue)

Most of the cast: (Sobbing and crying at the scene)

Grievous: Ridiculous…

xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: Yeesh, as least the ending is sweet, Grievous.

Grievous: I know, but that's what making me feel like puking.

Ahsoka: Awwww… *Sniff*… Rex and Claire.

Cody: Wait to go, Rex!

Yoda: So touching… this scene is…

Obi wan: Has anyone seen those two lately?

xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: They're probably in a room now doing God knows what.

Everyone: 0_o

Kit: That was a very disturbing image you just planted in my head.

xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: So while everyone's bawling their eyes out and flooding the room with tears, please review! Merry X'mas! No flames! :)

Anakin: Why must the good always suffeeeeeeeeeer?!

A/N: Too bad I don't own any of the songs and the lyrics here... T^T


	7. To Washington DC! Part 1

**CHAPTER 7: To Washington DC! Part 1**

_Previously: Christmas has finally arrived! While Soltaria, Obi Wan, Padme and Kit Fisto found R2-D2, the others play a game of Truth & Dare. Meanwhile, Yoda wanders around the streets, only to spot a burglar attempting to enter the house of Claire and Soltaria. Along the way, a pair of lovebirds confesses their love in each other, even though they knew that they might be separated in the end…_

xXHiKaRi_ShIrOuXx: Alright guys! Let's get this story go- (Pauses) where the heck is everyone?

R2-D2: (Beeps non-stop) Beep-beep-beeeep-beeeep!

xXHiKaRi_ShIrOuXx: 0_o What do you mean that the others went to prepare for the New Year?

Padme: Everyone except Anakin, that is.

xXHiKaRi_ShIrOuXx: You mean he's still crying over the last chapter?! 0_o

Yoda: Afraid of sad ending he is.

xXHiKaRi_ShIrOuXx: Oh for the love of… I'll go talk to him. In the mean time, you guys handle the disclaimer. (Walks off)

R2-D2: (Beeps happily) Beep-bo-beep-beep!

Padme: That's right R2. xXHiKaRi_ShIrOuXx does not own anything from star wars clone wars and whatever star wars franchise that exists. She owns nothing in her fanfics, but her OC, Claire Aschlock.

Yoda: And Soltaria Levin, belongs to a friend she is.

R2-D2: (Beeps in excitement) Beep! Beep!

Padme: That's all, R2. ^^

Yoda: (Chuckles) Onto the story, we must go…

############

You know how life can always get so crazy when you least expect it?

Well, that's what happened to me for the past few weeks.

I mean, the mayhem…

The action and butt kicking…

The unexpected romance…

Plus a dose of bad luck here and there…

I guess that's what makes a fun-filled and chaotic day for a bunch of misfits like us. But I just wish it wouldn't have to end someday…

Then again, whom am I kidding? The mayhem was just about to begin again.

#############

"Guys, pack your stuff and let's get going! We're on our way to Washington DC!"

The rest of us stared blankly at Soltaria, as if she just reined in the apocalypse.

"I think she has finally lost it," Grievous snorted gruffly.

"Tell me about it," Rex agreed. "I mean, what the heck is Washington DC?"

Soltaria gave the both of them a whack on the head and brought up a map of USA. "Well I have just received a call from Bailey, who reported that there were sightings of SW characters at the NASA head quarters in Washington DC. Which should be riiiiiiiggghhhht…"

Soltaria trailed the long road to Washington DC with her finger and stopped at a particular area of the map after 10 minutes. "…Here."

"But we'll need to ride a plane for that!" I complained.

"So?"

"How are we going to get into one with these guys?" I jabbed a finger to the cast of SW characters, who seemed to be minding their own business.

"Don't worry, Claire-Bear! We'll work something out!" She replied cheerfully. "After all, Bailey said that they would be the last SW characters we need to find in this world. Once we find them, we can send everyone back!"

I was stunned.

"This Bailey seemed very sure of getting us out of here," Obi Wan remarked.

Soltaria sighed. "She's just really stressed up with work. I mean she went to check the whole world map just to pinpoint the last of these characters for crying out loud."

I glanced at Rex worriedly, and he returned my glance with an unwavering gaze. '_So does that mean… we _**_must_**_ say _**_goodbye_**_?_'

"Why must we take this plane, Soltaria?" Ahsoka asked.

"Well, it's either that or a two days long journey via the van-

"How soon can the arrangements be made?" Anakin interjected, resulting in anime sweat drops forming on everyone's forehead.

"Oh, pretty soon. I just need to book the air tickets and we'll be on our way there tomorrow morning. I'll let you all know once we got everything ready."

"Thank you, we must," Yoda said. "For everything, you have done."

Everyone went back to his or her rooms, excited about going back to their world. But Rex and I were the most reluctant about the news. Soltaria walked over to me and smiled. "Isn't this great? Now we they can all return home and we don't have to worry about them anymore!"

I tried to smile, but I couldn't. Besides, even if I did, it wouldn't be one of happiness. As Soltaria walked back to her room, I felt Rex's fingers intertwine with mine.

"I'm sorry…" Rex whispered.

I gave a small nod, holding back the tears in my eyes and the anguish in my heart.

Must the times we spent together really end?

##########

Soltaria slammed the door of the toilet shut and she began to sob and wail. Her phone rang and she picked it up.

"Are you happy now, Bailey?" She sobbed angrily.

"Geez Soltaria, what's the matter with you?" Bailey asked.

"No thanks to you… Claire is going to miserable again! She was enjoying their company, Bailey! They were family to her!"

"Soltaria, I thought we got over this already-"

"Shut up! Bailey, listen to what you are saying! You're speaking like those damn uncaring villains in a cheesy drama movie. You suck! You know that? You suck!"

Bailey could feel an anime vein twitching on her forehead, but restrained her anger. "This is why guardian angels like us shouldn't get too close to our mortals."

"I can't believe I have to say such horrible things to her! It's not faaaaaaaair!" Soltaria began wailing again, tears leaking out of her eyes like a water fountain.

Bailey sighed on the other line. "Soltaria… it has to be done… It's against the rules for them to stay here anyways…"

Soltaria continued to sob and sniff as she sank to her knees onto the cold ceramic floor.

"But is it worth… taking away what's most precious to others?"

There was nothing but sniffing and sobbing echoing in the toilet for the next few moments.

##########

I gazed up to the stars at night and relaxed as a pair of warm arms wrapped around my shoulders. "Hey Rex…" I smiled.

A soft laugh flowed from his lips and he nuzzled into my hair, breathing in my scent.

"You still use that fruit-smelling shampoo…" He chuckled.

I blushed shyly as we stayed in this position for some time.

"What do you see?" He asked, following my gaze to the stars in the evening sky.

"Stars… Lots of them…" I whispered. Rex nodded, pressing his cheek against mine.

"Rex?"

"Hm?"

"Where do you think people go after they die?"

Rex paused, pondering over his thoughts. His arms wrapped around me even more tightly and I leaned against his firm chest, listening to his heartbeat.

"I'm not sure… but maybe… they have become part of the stars… the Force…"

I looked closely at the stars glimmering in the distances as diamonds in the sky.

"People like my parents… and your brothers?"

Rex breathed in deeply. "Yeah."

Tenderly, I touched his arm and smiled. "Then, we better start smiling more often."

Rex arched a brow. "Why so?"

I turned around and looked up to meet his gaze, smiling. "So that they won't feel sad and in pain whenever they see us feeling down."

Rex stared at me as I giggled softly. "No matter what happens, promise me that you will always smile. And if you get lonely… just look at the stars…"

"But… how can I tell which is you?" He asked.

I grinned. "I think you will be smart enough to figure that out. Besides, didn't you say that you could never get me out of your head that easily?"

Rex stared at me blankly, but soon we burst out laughing together and he affectionately ruffled my hair. I hugged him tightly around the waist and he hugged me back.

"You know what, Rex?"

"What?"

"I just know that someday we'll meet again. Call it a gut instinct, but I just know…"

Rex embraced me tighter and I soaked into his warmth as he kissed my head. "I love you, Claire. I really do."

#########

When morning came, everyone was so tired that they possibly couldn't get out of their beds unless Soltaria threw in their greatest weakness in their faces. Ahsoka was among the many who yawned drowsily, dragging their feet against the road and fitting themselves in the van. Grievous was grouchy as ever while Dooku was as random and unpredictable as his amnesia moments were. I made friends with Yoda, Padme and even R2-D2, who was cute as a puppy ever! On the other hand, Rex was insistent on getting a window seat and dragged me into the van to sit next to him. Unfortunately, leading to Anakin, Ahsoka and Cody wouldn't stop teasing and tormenting us during the journey to the airport.

"Claire and Rex sitting on a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" Anakin sang out loud. Kit and Ahsoka couldn't stop laughing at the teasing, while Cody sniggered in the back seat. I blushed uncomfortably as the singing continued, along with R2-D2 beeping with the rhythm.

"First comes romance, and then a wedding… and soon little kids-"

Padme gagged Anakin with hot-cross bun from Dooku's bag of goodies, while Obi Wan and Yoda sent a warning glance to the singing duo. Rex squirmed on his seat uncomfortably while I shuddered at the thoughts of babies.

"Wait a minute… I saw you guys entering Claire's room!" Ahsoka gasped. "You mean you guys…"

"NO! NEVER! NO!" I blurted out without hesistation, my cheeks reddening in terror.

Rex slapped his forehead in embarrassment while Grievous rolled his eyes. "How disgusting…"

Suddenly, the traffic light flashed green and the engine revved up.

"And awaaaaaay we go!" Soltaria announced as she floored the gas pedal. The van jerked and picked up speed, zooming across the road as fast as a rollercoaster. There was only one thing we all could do then: Scream.

"I THINK I'M GONNA HUUUUUURL--"

##########

"Land! Sweet land! There is no one else who I love as much as you!" Anakin literally embraced the concrete floor after the van pulled over at the airport.

"You mean you don't love me?" Padme asked in disbelief.

Anakin froze and quickly ran to embrace Padme. "Oh no! I love you the most, Padme! I do!"

"Ani… You are… crushing… me…" Padme gasped.

Ahsoka stared at the couple and turned to me. "How is it that Rex doesn't go goo-goo-ga-ga all over you like that?"

"Skills my friend… skills…" I spoke with a sagely tone.

And so, we entered the airport but Anakin had to go to a pit stop to the little boys room. Kit accompanied him, while Padme waited outside. So we were pretty much left to our devices while Soltaria went to check grab our luggage and get some lunch. Soltaria gave me some acid-in-a-bottle as a weapon against Grievous, in case he were to go crazy and try to kill people. Unfotunately, Soltaria's mispronunciation of his name wasn't helping.

"Can't that damn woman get my name straight for once?" Grievous huffed.

"I can hear you, Grievouso!" Soltaria yelled.

"IT'S GRIEVOUS! GRIEVOUS!"

"Well your name does sound Spanish," I remarked.

We took a seat near the glass windows, where the SW characters could take a look at the aircraft flying off. R2-D2 beeped furiously.

"I agree, R2. They aren't as fast as our aircraft back in the Republic," Ahsoka replied.

"Yup. But I guess that's what happens when each of these things have to carry hundreds of people on board."

"It sure seems more peaceful here though. Unlike in our world…" Rex muttered.

I smirked. "You'll be surprise how many people would like to be in youR shoes."

"What about you?"

I blushed and averted my gaze to the airplanes flying off. "Erm… well, I'm won't mind… I mean, I would love to bust some clankers- I mean droids. But if I was from your world, I would like to have a chance to kick the Sith Emperor's butt, or at least maybe Nute Gunray… some bad guys… I had be a non-stop fighting machine with guns ready in my hands and being the cool Robin Hood…"

I noticed Rex staring at me, and blushed intensely. "Ermmm… Sorry, I get carried away when I get excited."

Ahsoka smiled. "Not at all, but who is this Robin Hood?"

"Oh, he's kind of like this guy who steals from the corrupt and rich to feed the oppressed and the poor."

Rex gave a gaze of admiration. "That's noble."

From his tone, he was like smiling coolly under his helmet. I had to hold back my urge to squeal like any fan girl would. In the meantime, Obi Wan and Cody were discussing what happened to Yoda.

"Much has happened while gone I was…" Yoda said, and then gave an amusing smile as Dooku went into a long daze. "What happened to Dooku most amusing, it is."

"It certainly was…" Obi Wan paused. "… Entertaining."

Just then, Kit came out from the toilet, looking quite pale.

"Master Fisto, how's Sky Guy doing?" Ahsoka asked.

"Apparently, he's still sick from the ride."

The disgusting sound of vomiting and up heaving can be heard distinctively from the toilet. "Maybe we should get some medicene for him…" Padme suggested.

I sighed. "I'll go get some stomach pills from the paramedic store. Can I trust you guys to stay and don't move from this spot?"

Everyone nodded and I rushed to the nearest store on the level.

'_Yeesh, It's not as if something will break when I turn around..._' I thought.

As if the Devil heard my words, he just had to go and jinx them.

In a matter of seconds, a loud crash was heard and the smashing of glass and screaming were distinctively heard. I turned around, to my horror, to find the nose of an airplane protruding from the large hole on the glass window.

"Holy Camoley! Rex!" I rushed to the clone captain who had escaped from the catastrophe. The rest of the SW characters were sprawled around the floor, slowly getting up to their feet. From the corner of my eye, a figure smashed the front windows of the airplane, emerging from the wreckage. I stood there stunned, with Rex in my arms as the light shone on the figure.

"Master… Plo?" I heard Ahsoka whisper in surprise.

The Kel Dor Jedi looked around his surroundings, and security men came rushing in with guns. "You there! Freeze!" One of them shouted.

Plo Koon saw the threatening men and with a wave of his hand, the guns leapt from their hands and were crushed by the Force, before clattering onto the floor. The men in black uniforms watched in surprise as he escaped from the scene.

"Get him!" And the men followed suit after the Jedi.

"Wait a minute!"

Just when I thought things couldn't get worse, I saw Dooku held captive by a few of the security men. One of them took out his light saber. "This man got some metal object like our friend back there, and it ain't a fake."

"How did you get him?" Another asked.

"He went through our metal detector and it almost went crazy."

I gritted my teeth. '_Damn it! Dooku! Why does he always have to get himself captured by the government_?'

In a rage, Grievous attempted to charge towards them, unsheathing his light sabers. With not much choice, I took out the acid in a bottle and threw it at his metal legs. '_Sorry, Grievous!_'

Grievous fell to the ground with a thud and a yelp, as the acid seared through his metal legs. One of the security men approached me and asked, "Excuse me, ma'am. Do you know this fellow?"

I blinked and turned to a dazed Dooku, shaking my head furiously.

"No! Never saw him in my life! Ever!" I exclaimed.

The man eyed me suspiciously and beads of sweat formed on my palms.

"Alright, ma'am." With that, Dooku was taken away and I sighed in relief.

"Why did you do that?" Cody asked.

"Relax Cody-"

"That was my line!" Rex said.

I sighed. "Anyways, if I told them the truth, then you guys would be captured too. Besides, once Soltaria gets back, we need to formulate a plan to get Plo Koon and bust out of here ASAP."

"But what about the plane?" Obi Wan asked.

"No offense, Obi Wan. But I don't think we can get into a plane after what ust happened. God, we may even be marked as criminals or fugitives if they knew about us…"

Kit's eyes widened, utterly terrified. "Fugitives?"

R2-D2 beeped in a scared tone. All of a sudden, I felt sharp metal talons wrapped around one of my legs and pulled me down to the ground. I winced as I found Grievous crawling on top of me, ready to kill me with a light saber in one hand.

"I should have killed you when we first met!" He hissed.

I blinked. "Wow... Now I know why so many girls get turned on by you."

In blind fury, Rex hauled Grievous off me and knocked him out with his handle of his blasters. I yelped as he pulled me roughly to my feet.

"Are you ok?" Rex asked huskily, at the same time roughly hugged me close.

"Erm, yes…" His voice left my heart pounding and speechless.

"So much for skills…" Ahsoka giggled.

Why did he have to be so cool and yet so protective?

"OH MY GOD! CLAIRE-BEAR!"

'_Oh shi-_'

Before I could react, Soltaria tackled me down to the floor, out of Rex's grasp.

"Oh my goodness! I heard a big 'CRASH', then my tracker beeped like crazy and so I rushed here ASAP! Are you all right? You didn't get hurt, did you?" She squeezed every weak muscle of my reddened cheeks and scrambled to check my whole body for injuries.

I sighed in defeat. "Yes, I'm fine and no, not everything is ok."

"Kidnapped, Dooku has been," Yoda suddenly spoke up. "Retrieve him we must."

"What the hell- How did you get here so fast?" I asked, shocked by his sudden appearance.

Yoda chuckled impishly, well something like that. "Small in size I might be, but fast and nimble, my feet is."

"He's quick to recover," Ahsoka said.

After much eternity, Anakin finally emerged from the toilet and raises his arms in the air. "I'm ALIIIIVVVVEEEEE!" He bellowed.

"About time! Come on, we need to save Dooku." Padme dragged him towards us.

"But why?" Anakin blurted out in shock.

Everyone pondered over the thought, but no good reason came out.

"No offense, but Sky Guy has a point…" Ahsoka said.

"He **is** a notorious Sith Lord…" Cody muttered.

"He called and treated me as a slave," Grievous flatly stated.

Rex shrugged. "I just personally don't like him…"

"His constant amnesia periods do irritate me," Kit muttered.

"He keeps stealing my cookies and thought I was a relative," Soltaria cringed at the memory.

"Ditto."

"He **has** hurt many innocents…" Padme angrily said.

Obi Wan scratched his bearded chin. "We have been enemies for a long time..."

"And I can't see a single good thing about him! So why should we rescue him?"

R2-D2 beeped furiously with Anakin and Yoda sighed.

"An enemy, he was. Betrayed the Jedi and us, he did. But our responsibility to deal with Dooku, it is."

After a long pause, everyone shrugged or grumbled "fine".

"But what about Master Plo?" Ahsoka asked.

Soltaria and I turned to each other and grinned.

############

The chief security guard slammed his fist onto the table, glaring at Dooku with much impatience.

"For the last thousandth time, **WHO **do you work for?" He demanded.

"I've been trying to tell you. I work for Darth Sidious, the Sith Emperor," Dooku plainly stated.

"Oh for crying out loud! Just tell us which terrorist group do you work for?" The man yelled at him. "What is it? Iraq? Germany? Just tell us already!"

"Tell you what?"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAARRRGGGHHH!" The man bellowed in frustration and waved his arms in fury. He kicked the chair and pushed the table, causing his cup of coffee to spill. Dooku just sat there bored, with his arms folded and one leg resting on top of the other.

"Dude, this old guy is tough to crack…" One of the security guards at the door of the interrogation room whispered to his buddy.

"Yeah, it's been an hour and he still hasn't spill anything."

"Must be some kind of professional or something. I've never seen Boss yell like that since his wife booted him out of their apartment."

"Tell me about it… Hey look!"

The pair of security guards gaped at the pair of two beautiful girls, Ahsoka and Padme, walking and talking with each other. "Whooaaaaa…" The both of them gawked as they walked smoothly and gracefully towards the security guards, smiling seductively upon noticing the two men in uniforms.

"Hey boys," Ahsoka greeted with a cute smile.

The young rookie guards felt their heart caught in their throat as the girls came over to chat with them. "Dude! We scored big time! Those chicks are HOT!" The first security guard whispered excitedly to his partner.

"Yeah…" His partner drooled. "I got dips on the girl in the tube-top!"

"What? No fair! I wanted the girl with the tube-top!"

As the two guards argued over the cute girls, they did not notice them approaching, so Padme and Ahsoka gave each other a nod. In a flash, Ahsoka forced pushed them against the floor and Padme knocked them out, each with a jab to the neck, leaving them to slip into unconsciousness. Padme dugged out the card from one of the men's shirt pocket, and Ahsoka motioned the guys hiding behind the wall to come over. Soltaria, Cody and Obi Wan soon came into the scene and proceeded to enter the room. Soltaria's tracker beeped and she nodded. "He's in, open the door. Cody, guard the door with Ahsoka and Padme."

They agreed and Padme opened the door with the security card. With a 'Slish' and a 'Beep', the door opened and Soltaria and Obi Wan rushed into the room. The Chief Guard was taken aback. "What in the name of-"

A flash of bright white light was emitted from the tracker in Soltaria's hand, and the Chief Guard was left dazed and disoriented, slumping against the wall.

"As much as I hate to do this…" Obi Wan unchained Dooku with his light saber.

"Oh! Grand Nephew! You have arrived!" Dooku hugged Obi Wan tightly, leaving the Jedi in a very awkward position.

"Mission accomplished guys," Soltaria grinned. "Now let's get to Claire."

##############

"INCOMING!"

Everyone ducked as the plane flew towards him or her and up high into the air. I turned around to see Plo Koon attempting to drive another airplane into the sky.

"Oh Man! If he drives any higher, the plane would just come falling back onto the ground in a burning heap!" I said.

"Is there no way of contacting him?" Rex asked, kicking a security man in the gut.

"The radio tower, but I'm not sure if he would even hear us at this rate! Eek!" I yelped as the plane almost collided with the ground before flying up again. "Damn it, we need a signal! To tell him to stop!"

"PLOOOOOOOO! PLOOOOOOO KOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!"

I gasped and everyone averted their attention to Anakin, who was standing on the very top of the radio tower yelling and waving colored flags as if he was in some relay race.

"That buffoon! What is he trying to do?" Grievous growled, while holding off hordes of security men with Kit, Yoda, R2-D2 and Rex. (By the way, he's legs were already patched up by Soltaria's magic.)

"Sir! Get down from there! It's dangerous!" Rex yelled at him.

"IT'S ME! ANAKIIIIIIIIIN! CAN YOU HEAR ME? OR SEE ME?"

"Anakin, you…" Just as I was about to rant at him, the plane began to descend from the sky and hover around Anakin. "… Idiot?"

"PLOOOOO! LAND NOW! WE MEAN NO HAAAAAARMMM!"

As if Anakin's words were magic, the plane began to descend down to the ground slowly. By then, the security guards had stopped fighting with us.

"Wow, who knew that Anakin was… smart?" I muttered.

Rex went over beside me and gazed up to Anakin. "Claire, trust me, I've been under his command for a long time. His plans **always** work, or at least, we managed to accomplish our mission without getting ourselves killed."

R2-D2 whistled.

Yoda chuckled. "Hiding it, he just has been."

"Well I guess he does have his good poi- HOLY SPITZ! LOOK OUT!"

The plane came crashing towards us as it landed roughly onto the runway. Everyone ran far away from the runway, or at least dodged the incoming terror plane of doom. Anakin was left stuck on top of the radio tower as the plane headed towards him in a slow yet agonizing pace. I swore he looked ready to faint when the plane came to a stop, with the nose of the plane just touching the tower. The door of the plane opened and Plo Koon climbed out of it with little effort. He saw Anakin standing rooted to the tower's peak and yelled to him. "SKYWALKER! ARE YOU ALRIGHT?"

Anakin's eye twitched as he gazed down from the top of the tower.

"I-I-I THINK I JUST WET MY PANTS!"

#############

Later, Soltaria wiped out the memories of the event on the minds of people in the airport and all was well again. Ahsoka was real glad to see Plo Koon again and I couldn't help but smile as they were reunited. Unfortunately, the whole mess caused our whole trip via plane to be cancelled, so we have to take the van, much to Anakin's displeasure.

But it did gave us a chance to chat with Plo Koon.

"Believe me, I didn't know that the aircraft was unable to travel in space. I just wanted to find a way back home," he said.

"Well, Mister Plo, you'll be happy to know that once we find our last missing character, we'll be able to send you guys back home," Soltaria replied.

"Sigh… That's a relief." He turned to meet my gaze and gave a nod. "Thank you, Miss Aschlock for taking care of Ahsoka."

I smiled. "No worries, Master Plo. Ahsoka was like the little sister I never had. By the way, you can call me Claire. It's an honor to finally meet you in person. I have always admired you with respect."

"Likewise."

I blushed at the compliment while Ahsoka smiled sheepishly. The moment seemed so magnificient, until Rex cleared his throat.

"So how did you end up there, Master Plo?" Ahsoka asked.

"I was chasing down a Sith in the area, but she managed to escape."

I pondered. '_She_?'

Rex suddenly snaked an arm around my waist and pulled me close. I could feel his muscles tense under the armor. '_Could that person be…_'

"Yes, she said something about a space station in a far area. Something called Washington DC," Plo added.

I turned to Soltaria. '_That was where we are heading_!'

"Is there such a thing on this planet?" Obi Wan asked Soltaria.

"Yeah. It's called NASA. Lots of space rockets there. But if she's planning on escaping this planet and back to her world… She won't last long."

Another tense silence filled the van.

"Then hurry, we must."

##############

xXHiKaRi_ShIrOuXx: Alright! That's finale part 1 over! But I won't tell you who the next character is, because you probably would have guessed it by now.

Anakin: But it's so obvious! IT'S-

Suddenly, Ahsoka, Grievous and Rex held him down and gagged him with a donut.

Grievous: No spoiling the fans!

Claire: Finally! That was way too close

Soltaria: Phew! How did he get here so fast?

Rex: Erm… General Skywalker goes high on sugar.

Ahsoka and Padme: That's new! O_o

xXHiKaRi_ShIrOuXx: Wait a minute! Why is everyone suddenly coming back?

Obi Wan: Figured you could use some help.

Cody: Ditto.

Dooku: HELLO!

xXHiKaRi_ShIrOuXx: What the heck? Ah forget it! I'm taking a nap! Review and no flames please! Look forward to the next chapter! :)

**A/N: This is a special section that I almost forgot to add in. Due to the messages I have been receiving, I would like to make an announcement. For those who would like to PM me, please activate your Private Message feature. (For those who are not sure how: Login first and then go to account and press enable to do so. But it should be the first page you get after you log in, so yeah...)

To reviewers: Look out for the last chapter and the sequel which I will try to post after the last chap! (Sequel title for now: Here we go again... SW style!)

To loyal fans (Scott Summers fan, Thunderstar29, Scorpling-no-Okami, Daughter of Sekhmet & spectrobemaster): Thank you so much for your support! You can bet that I'll work hard for the next chap and sequel! XD

To lightan117: Thanks for the nice message. I would like to be your friend. ^^ I wanted to reply to your message, but your PM (Private Message) feature was disabled, so I had to post my reply here. ^^" So yeah, hope you can enable it soon... and I really hope to hear from you more often! Look out for more to come! XD


	8. To Washington DC! Part 2

**Chapter 8: To Washington DC! Part 2**

_Previously: With the news of the last characters announced, Rex and Claire share their last moments together, while Soltaria is left to watch the pair and wondered if their separation would deal a devastating blow to her mortal. But things get hectic when a trip to an airport ended up with a mad chase to find Plo Koon and rescue Dooku from the clutches of the security. With no time to loose, the gang soon head for Washington DC to find the notorious last character, before she tries a suicidal plan, much worse than Plo's own! But will the story (Along with Rex and Claire's relationship) come to a tragic end? _

xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: Well guy, I got good news and bad news. The good news is… that this would be the last chapter and you guys can finally take a break.

The Cast: YAY!

xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: The bad news is… that there will be a sequel and you guys would have to work extra hard again.

The Cast: D'oh!

Plo Koon: And I just joined this show. T_T

xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: Don't worry Plo! You'll get your chance to shine in the sequel! ^^

Anakin: So Rex and Claire are like the Mary-sue couple that would get together?

Ahsoka: Like the girl next door gets the guy?

xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: Gets the guy?

Soltaria: …She **does** get the guy in the end of this story, right?

xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: Erm… Yes… No… Maybe?

Everyone: (stares) …

Anakin: (Gasps) Oh my god! You lied to me about the ending?

Ahsoka: How can you be so cruel?

xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: No- Anakin! Ahsoka! It's not like that!

Soltaria: That's it! Give me that script!

xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: (Gets chased by Soltaria, Anakin and Ahsoka) Nooo! I'm the writer! I can do what I want with it!

Claire: You know what? Let's just get this over with.

Rex: 0_o You mean you don't want us to be together?

Claire: Eh?

Rex: But I thought you love me? T^T

Claire: Actually I was referring to the Disclaimer and then going for some ice cream.

Rex: O_O (Eyes sparkle in joy) So you do love me?

Claire: (sighs) Yes, Rex.

Rex: (Turns to Cody) In your face, Cody!

Cody: What the hell? -_-"

Claire: Alright people! All together now!

Everyone: xXHiKaRi_ShIrOuXx does not own anything from star wars clone wars and whatever star wars franchise that exists, except her OC in this story- Claire Aschlock. Soltaria Levin belongs to a friend of hers.

R2-D2: (Beeps happily)

Claire: That's right R2! Onto the story!

############

In a faraway dimension, an ethereal, tall being of blue watched the stars of thousands of galaxies from his balcony. Beside him, was an ethereal being of white, a golden cross was sewn grandly on his robe. Neither of their faces could be seen for now.

"It is almost time for her to know the truth. Isn't it?" The ethereal being of white asked.

The blue ethereal-being smiled. "Indeed it is… But for now, I shall only allow a small part of this truth to be told. And when she discovers her true self, then I shall tell her the rest of the story long forgotten."

The white ethereal-being chuckled heartily. "I'm sure she will make you proud. She is after all **your** descendant."

"Yes," The godly figure in blue stared at the skies. "She's saving others as we speak, this I can guarantee."

##########

I woke up with a sneeze, blinking hard and rubbing my itching nose.

"Who the heck is talking about me behind my back?" I muttered.

A loud snore came from the back and I turned around to glare at the snoring Anakin, whose mouth was wide open. For a minute I thought I saw drool dripping from his mouth. The van was parked at a gas station, where we have decided to make a pit stop. The characters grew bored very quickly, so Soltaria conjured up her laptop with a wireless connection token in her sleepy state. But she fell asleep right after that, leaving me to do all the teaching.

It's been a day since we left the airport and another day closer to catching our last character. Although I probably had a good feeling on whom it was, since Rex had always been tense about every mention of her. Which other female in Star Wars the Clone Wars was a Sith, wielding red light sabers and had a crazy psycho-assassin attitude? Hm?

After getting some breakfast from the gas station's convenience store, I climbed back into the van, only to find the guys huddled up at the back, staring at the laptop screen intensely.

"Erm guys… Breakfast is here," I announced.

There was still no response. Not even a twitching of an eye. I placed the bags on the seat next to me and walked over to them. "Seriously, enough of the computer alre-"

"Oh the Force!" Kit exclaimed.

Arching a brow, I turned to the screen and almost guffawed at their expressions while Kit read out aloud.

"Cody/Obi Wan… Anakin/Ahsoka… Rex/Ahsoka… Obi Wan/Anakin?"

Obi Wan and Cody stared at each other, backing away with a shudder. Ahsoka and Rex blinked wildly while Anakin glared at the screen in disbelief. "What the heck? I'm not into him! That's just EWW!"

"Anakin/Padme… Grievous/Shaak Ti… Kit/Aayla… Ahsoka/Cad Bane?"

Anakin couldn't help but laugh at the random pairings, while Padme shot him a glare. Dooku was still asleep, and all Yoda could do was shake his head at the sheer stupidity.

"Eww! I hate Cad Bane!" Ahsoka stuck out her tongue in disgust.

"Aayla would kill me if she saw this…" Kit gulped.

"And I never shared such feelings for a Jedi!" Grievous coughed.

"Riiiiight…" I rolled my eyes at the general's snide remark.

"There isn't anything about me, is there?"

"Don't worry Master Plo! I'm sure no one would try anything like that!" Ahsoka grinned.

Kit tapped a button and silence filled the van, except for R2-D2 whistling at the words: **Plo/Ahsoka**.

"Errrr… You know, Plo Koon… Why not we go out for some fresh air?" Obi Wan suggested.

Before Plo could protest, Obi Wan shoved him out of the van, followed by Padme and R2-D2, who have decided to take a breather from the insanity.

"This, who did, Claire?" Yoda asked.

"Yoda, meet fan fiction, the place where many people like to pair up certain characters from a story, comic or movie for the fun of it. No offense."

"Who in the Force is Darth Vader?" Anakin asked dumbly. "And what the heck is an OC?"

I held back my laughter at the irony of Anakin's first question.

"Skywalker, why not you just click on the stories to find out?" Cody asked.

Anakin pushed Kit aside and took control of the laptop, forcing him to knock Dooku off his seat. Dooku's eyes shot wide open from the impact and began singing out loud another random song.

"Who SAID, who SAID! I won't be PRESIDENT?"

And that was how Dooku earned a hot-cross bun stuffed into his mouth by Rex. Grievous on the other hand, was preparing his multiple light sabers to slice and dice him.

"Can't I just shut him up for good? All I need is a few minutes and-"

"Grievous! SIT!" I ordered, shoving him back into his seat and strapping him to it with the seatbelt.

"What? Why you…"

In a flash, I wrenched one of his light sabers from his grasp and pointed it near his neck. Grievous stared at me in shock as I glared sternly.

"You got something else to say?" I threatened darkly.

Grievous immediately shook his head quickly, grunting even after handing him back his light saber. Rex gawked at me in somewhat awe.

"When did you learn to do that?" He asked.

I shrugged. "I took self-defense lessons from Soltaria. Besides, someone had to tell him."

"Now this story is cute," Ahsoka smirked, motioning to come over.

Puzzled, I did. But the moment I saw what was on the screen, I screamed.

"SOLTARIAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

#########

"I said I was sorry…" Soltaria said while focusing on the road.

I sulked, sitting next to Rex who was equally embarrassed. The other characters that were present at my humiliation snickered.

"Yeah, like putting up a fanfic about a Rex/me story was fun for you…" I griped.

"But it was so cute… and you two look so CUTE together!"

Everyone burst out laughing as usual. Rex was blushing madly behind his helmet, and I swore steam was emerging from my ears.

"You even put one of my toddler pictures as your profile pic…"

"What's done can't be undone."

The road cleared and the van was still moving slow due to Soltaria's tiredness.

"Are you sure you can still drive?" Padme asked.

"I'm fine. Damn… Maybe I should have gotten some more Mocha drinks…"

I was feeling slightly drowsy at the speed the van was going, not realizing that I was leaning my head onto Rex's shoulder. A long 'AAAAAAWWWWW' rudely awakened me and I blushed crimson red, avoiding the gaze of others. Rex sighed and brought his hand onto my shoulder, pulling me closer to him. My heart accelerated to the maximum when I felt him gently squeezing my shoulder and leaning his head on top of mine.

"You can sleep now," He whispered.

I blushed even more shyly. "Rex…"

Anakin sniffled, and then began wailing. Padme tried to comfort him while Cody paused when he heard a small sniff from his side.

"Grievous… are you crying?"

Grievous returned a pretending look of surprise, trying to hide his tears. "What? No! I'm not! I'm a warrior! I rather shed blood than tears!"

"That will be a problem since most of your body is made of… well… metal," Cody stated flatly.

"THAT'S IT! I DON'T CARE IF IT'S BREAKING THE RULES! I'M NOT GONNA JUST SIT HERE AND WATCH YOU TWO SUFFER!" Soltaria yelled out in frustration.

"Soltaria?" I stared in shock of her reaction.

"ONCE WE FIND THAT STUPID B****! I'M GONNA FIGHT AGAINST BAILEY AND THE ORDER FOR YOUR SAKE! CLAIRE-BEAR!"

"Soltaria… language-"

Soltaira shifted gear and press some button on the steering wheel. Before I knew it, the van was speeding away with rocket boosters that had somehow emerged from the van's boot. I held onto the edge of my seat for my dear life.

"Holy SPITZ! Where the hell did those come from?" I yelled.

"No idea! But I hope I don't throw up my breakfast again!"

"WE'RE GONNA DIE AGAAAAAIINNN!"

"WHEEEEEEEEEEE! THIS IS FUN!"

"FUN? KIT! ARE YOU MAAAAAAAAD?"

"OH THE FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORRCCEE…"

#############

The bald woman in purple robes incapacitated the last guard in the vicinity, and moved on to find a ship in the NASA headquarters.

"I must hurry to assist Master Dooku immediately…" She said.

She had no idea how she landed in this atrocious strange world. Asking for help from the people was out of the option, since the last man she tried to question gawked at her like an idiot and tried to get a feel of her. She smirked at the memory of Force-Pushing the jerk into a trash bin and pounding him against a brick wall.

Then again, she isn't Asaji Ventress for nothing.

##############

"I'm never ever EVER going into that THING again!" Anakin yelled for the tenth time ever since we finally reached the Washington NASA HQ.

"Oh just stuff it, Anakin. We're here already anyway," I replied in an irritated tone.

Unlike what it was described in the brochures, the place was desolated with no sign of any security guards except for the one in the booth who had been knocked out. The gate was cut into half with black burnt ends at the edges. The burns were still fresh.

"Ventress," Obi Wan said.

We expected company as we proceeded into the main facility room of NASA HQ, but most of the guards were either missing or taken out.

"Security is quite lousy here," Rex remarked.

I agreed. "Yeah. Just like the movies…"

It was decided that we split up into three groups:

The First- Anakin, Grievous, Kit, Plo Koon and Cody

The Second- Soltaria, Obi Wan, Padme, Yoda and Dooku

And the Third- Rex, Ahsoka, R2-D2 and I

"If anyone spots Ventress, make sure she doesn't escape and meet us back here at the entrance," Soltaria said.

"That's gonna be tough. Ventress is a slippery one," Rex growled. "What's more loony over that was her teacher."

He jabbed a finger to Dooku who was blabbering nonsense in a daze. Grievous glowered. "You will not insult my lord, Clone!"

Before they can clash, I stepped in between them. As I held them away from each other, I gave the two enemies a warning glance.

"Will you guys for the last time stop trying to KILL each other and start WORKING together?"

Rex and Grievous continued to glare at each other.

"I would if this stupid **Clone** could shut his trap for once!" The droid general insisted.

"Only if this **Clanker** stops being such a whiner…" Rex muttered under his breath.

Both of them glared at each other harder, daring the other to make a move. I slapped my forehead. "And I thought Rex VS Cody in Halo wasn't enough…"

"The Force… May it be with us all…" Yoda sighed.

With a nod, we parted ways.

############

_At the NASA Training facilities…_

"What's up with you Grievous? You have been more grouchier than usual lately."

Grievous whipped around swiftly, glaring at Anakin. "You had better hold your tongue, Skywalker… before I slice it for you."

"Geez… I'm just curious…" Anakin mumbled while walking along the corridor with the others. He narrowed his eyes at Grievous.

"What are you staring at?"

He shrugged. "Nothing."

"Master Fisto, have they always been like this since before I came?" Plo asked Kit.

"As usual."

Anakin halted, and then smacked his fist in his palm at a sudden thought.

"I got it!" He smirked excitedly at Grievous. "You're jealous of Rex's relationship with Claire!"

Grievous began blubbering like a goldfish out of water. "That's absurd! Why should I be jealous of that buffoon and insolent girl? Isn't Cody the one interested in her!"

"For the record, we're just friends. And one thing, you didn't hurt her when she was transformed into a helpless kid," Cody said.

"And you even lowered your defenses against her back in the van," Kit added.

"It was a moment of folly! And why should I hurt a child who pose no threat to me?"

"Plain and simple." Anakin mouthed the words: You like her.

Grievous glowered. "That's it! I warned you, Skywalker!"

A light saber battle ensured between Grievous and Anakin. Laser blades clashed and sparks flew off. All of a sudden, a shadow emerged from above and clashed light sabers with the two battling enemies. Everyone's eyes widened at Ventress, who was taken by surprise from Grievous' presence.

"Grievous?"

"Ventress?"

The Sith assassin leaped back to the ground, readying her dual light sabers at the group who unsheathed their weapons.

"I see you need some help, Grievous…"

"Ventress, you have to come with us! If you try to use a ship here you won't be able to return back to our world," Plo urged.

"Hah! Like I had believe your Jedi lies!" Ventress spat.

"I told you she wouldn't believe us," Anakin said.

"Then should we take her down?" Cody asked.

"General! Why should you side with the Jedi, who are your very enemies? Why not take the chance to strike at them and get out of the useless planet?"

She waited for Grievous to strike, but he did not. Instead, he was pondering over something that nobody knew of.

A memory, that only he remembered so vividly.

###########

_During the day when Claire was transformed into a child…_

Grievous was dozing off in his room when he heard someone knock on the door.

"Grievy?" A tiny honey-sweet voice was heard.

He grunted, ignoring Claire's call. He didn't want to deal with the 'children' after the whole marker fiasco. Too bad he forgot to lock the door. Grievous muttered curses under his breath as the tiny girl pushed the door open and entered the room. She skipped over to him, inches away from touching him.

"Do not touch me, child," He hissed.

Obediently, she withdrew her hand and stood next to him. After a few moments of silence and staring from the girl, he finally gave up.

"What do you want?"

She smiled, revealing pearly white teeth. "Snack time. Don't you want to come down?"

Grievous growled. "I'm not hungry."

She tilted her head at the huge droid lying on the floor. His amber eyes were distant, along with his mind wandering away from reality.

"Do you miss someone you like?" Claire innocently asked.

Grievous bolted up and glared at the girl with shoulder length raven hair and curious opal eyes. "It is none of your concern, girl."

She paused, staring at his fierce amber reptilian eyes. He hated it when someone does that. It felt like someone staring right down into his soul. It made him felt weak.

"You have very sad and lonely eyes…"

Grievous' eyes widened at the child, who sat down next to him and placed her small hand gently down on his metal talons.

"I can feel it… so much pain…" She whispered.

He wrenched his hand away from hers. "I told you not to touch me!"

The girl flinched, but calmed down, showing no fear, but worry in her eyes.

"I'm sorry. Please don't be angry, Grievy."

"And quit calling me that!"

Saddened, she cast her eyes down to the floor. Grievous soon noticed the water droplets dripping down to the floor. She was crying.

Now normally, he wouldn't give a damn about that. But the guilt was tugging hard at his heart, making it impossible to ignore the crying girl. He didn't know why, but the girl reminded him of someone he once knew. Especially when she was her rambunctious teenage self. Grievous had never met anyone who was so rebellious, recklessly brave and yet caring in his life. In fact, that kind of disrespectful attitude usually puts him off.

And yet… this wild and carefree side of her was what reminded him of an old friend whom he once cherished.

Claire dried her tears, not wishing to let him see her cry. It was a pitiful attempt, but she donned her best smile for him.

"Never mind, I'll go first, Grievy," She said cheerfully.

Just before the girl could skip back to the door, Grievous stood up and walked towards her. Claire looked up at him with amazement as he opened the door with a grunt.

"I guess it won't hurt."

A warm smile formed on her face and she took Grievous' hand while leading him down. He shook her hand off numerous times in annoyance.

But she never gave up trying to hold his hand as they walked together.

###########

"What are you waiting for Grievous? Finish them!"

The droid general closed his eyes and pondered. Would he really betray an ally for her?

"Well?"

Clenching the light sabers in his talons, he opened his eyes and slowly turned to face Ventress.

"They're speaking the truth, Ventress."

A shocked expression swept over everyone's faces.

"We're here to find you and so that everyone can return to the world we belong to."

Cody blinked. "Well that was… unexpectedly calm from someone like him."

Ventress snarled and leapt towards them.

"TRAITOR!"

Grievous blocked the attack, grunting at the sheer power of her blades. The others striked, but Ventress dodged their attacks while protecting herself. The assassin made a run for the left hallway and barged into a room.

"Come on! She's not too far ahead!" Anakin yelled, entering the room.

Kit, Plo Koon and Grievous followed from behind, but Cody halted outside. The sign beside the door on the right read: Training Simulation Room.

"Erm… Sir…"

In the next moments, screams and the sound of a rocket engine firing up were distinctively heard. Cody rushed into the room, but found no one in the room, except a huge spaceship jerking in several motions while being rooted to one spot. What's more, Ventress was nowhere to be found. Cody looked up to the air vent, and just as he had thought, the cover was cleanly sliced off. Much as he would like to go after Ventress, the present situation was not looking good.

"GET US OUT OF HERE!" Anakin cried as the rocket shook violently.

"Brace yourselves!"

The rocket tilted upwards and made a sound resembling a take-off.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH! WE'RE GOING TO DIE IN SPACE!"

"THIS IS FUUUUUUN!"

Cody went to the controls and tried to stop the simulation. However, every button he pressed was just making it worse.

"ARRRRGGGGGHHHHHH! I WANNA GO HOOOOOOME!"

############

_NASA HQ Hallway, near security bridge…_

Obi wan slowed down on his tracks, sensing a great disturbance in the Force.

"I sense Anakin, Kit and Plo are in danger," He said.

"Ventress, they must have met up with," Yoda replied.

"Or worse…" Soltaria muttered.

Padme dragged the dazed Dooku forward, who would helpless as a toddler if it weren't for her. "Come on, Dooku. The sooner with find your disciple, the sooner we can go home."

"I have a student?"

"Yes, you do. And you can enjoy your hot-cross buns in prison with her," Padme said.

"Yipee! Hot cross buns!" Dooku giggled like a 3-year boy.

Soltaria stared blankly at the stupefied Dooku. "And Claire told me that he was the Sith Lord on par with Obi Wan and Anakin combined."

The tracker in Soltaria's pocket began beeping wildly and Soltaria's eyes widened. "Oh shoot! She's here!"

The air vent above them broke into half and Ventress came falling with her light sabers ready to plunge into Soltaria's head.

"SOLTARIA!"

#########

_NASA Rocket launch site…_

Something wasn't right. At least, that's what I thought.

Rex and I wandered around the launch site with Ahsoka and R2-D2 scouting the area. I was beginning to worry for Soltaria, for once. She hasn't picked up her phone since we parted ways and I was now worried for the person who always drives me up to the wall. Then again, she does care for me… in a motherly protective way. I mean, Soltaria always said that I was so innocent and kind in nature that people around me are driven to protect me. Was that true?

"Rex?"

The clone captain turned to me, as we stopped walking.

"Am I… too innocent?" I asked.

Rex stared at me, pondering about the question.

"Err… No, I mean… yes, in a way. But err…" Rex's voice trailed off and he slapped his forehead. "Damn it."

I laughed softly and he ruffled my hair playfully.

"What made you ask that any way?" He asked.

I placed a finger at my lips, giving it a deep thought.

"I don't know, I guess I feel that people are way too over protective of me. Soltaria always said that it's because I'm actually very innocent deep inside…"

I turned to face Rex with curious big eyes. "Is that possible?"

He was spaced out for so long that I had to snap my fingers in front of him five times to wake him up.

"Sorry… I just can't bear to forget that look on your face," He chuckled.

And then I remembered. Sadly, I cast my eyes to the floor.

"I don't want to forget you…"

He heard my whisper, and wrapped his arms around me. My eyes shot wide open as his helmet fell to the ground and his lips met mine.

"Rex- Mmph!"

He cut me off again with another surprise kiss on the lips. I remained motionless in his embrace, and my eyelids grew heavy and weary.

'_Rex…_'

A soft moan escaped my lips as he delved deeper into the kiss, winding his arms around my waist. My fingers scrapped at the back of his armor, clinging onto him as if he was my life source. My oxygen.

"Mmm…" He moaned softly upon feeling me kiss back and wrapped my arms around his neck. Once we parted lips, he smirked and left a trail of butterfly kisses along my neck. I was taken by surprise as his lips met contact with my skin for the first time.

"R-R-Rex!" I flustered, blushing a million shades of crimson.

He laughed as I gave him a mock punch at his shoulder, sweeping me off my feet and spinning around. I laughed and giggled, so carried away by the rush of energy and emotions.

"How disgusting…"

The both of us froze, turning around to meet Ventress face to face. She smirked darkly. Ahsoka came rushing in, limping actually with a sprain on her right leg. R2-D2 beeped wildly as he sped towards us.

"Time to finish you off, once and for all."

She wielded her light saber in the air.

"Claire! Rex! Get out of there!" Ahsoka tried to use her Force power, but tripped and fell to the ground, losing concentration.

Rex fired his blasters at the assassin, but she easily force pulled them away from him. We were defenseless and in danger. I stood rooted to the ground, trembling as she smiled evily in triumph.

"Now, die. Useless trash," She cackled.

It all happened so fast then. The minute one of her red light sabers was thrown towards us as a deadly boomerang, I saw it heading towards Rex. With one final push, I shoved Rex out of the way. A searing pain burned on my left side.

"CLAIRE! NOOO!" I heard Rex scream.

Dazed and disoriented, my body fell onto the ground in pain. The darkness clouded my vision as I heard the clashing of light sabers and the screams of familiar voices.

Rex…

Soltaria…

Ahsoka...

Everyone…

I gave a weak smile as I recognized their faces. Rex's face loomed over mine, his eyes full of tears and pain.

"Don't go…" I heard him plead.

And then the world went black. I found myself floating in limbo, a galaxy of stars with streaks of black, purple, blue and white. My eyes wandered around this new world I was in.

"Am I… dead?"

"Not exactly."

An ethereal figure in blue appeared in front of me. I gawked in awe of his majestic presence. He had no face, only a pair of white glowing eyes and a long robe that covered even his toes.

"Who… are you?" I asked.

"I am a Traveler and a Watcher over the many worlds and dimensions. You may call me Vigil."

"Vigil…"

He continued, " There is not much time, but I'll tell you what you need to know for now."

I followed, or rather floated towards Vigil as he spoke. "As you know the characters of Star Wars the Clone Wars need to return to their home. Although it pained the both of us that you must part with the one whom you have grown attached to…"

"Rex."

"Yes, the clone captain, Rex. Your relationship with him is quite strange. Clearly, I have never witnessed such devotion between people from different dimensions," He chuckled.

I blushed hysterically.

"But you know that such love between them is usually forbidden. Don't you, Claire?" Vigil spoke in a solemn tone.

A pang of pain entered my heart, and sadly I nodded.

"Are you willing to let him go?" He asked.

I paused, before speaking up. "At first… I didn't want him to leave. I know that he has to help the others fight the war… and I didn't want him to die…"

I clutched the fabric of my shirt over my heart.

"It pains me to see him go, but I know… that he would always be here with me…" I patted the area on my chest, where my heart was. "In here."

Vigil nodded sagely.

"Very well then. But before you go, let me offer you a proposition. All you need to do is listen carefully…"

As Vigil whispered to me, I couldn't help but smile. "Thank you."

##########

My eyes fluttered and the light shone into my eyes. I rubbed them crazily and was greeted by a massive hug.

"CLAAAAAAIIIREEEE! You're alive!" Soltaria exclaimed in joy.

"Soltaria! Bone crushing! Argh!"

Soltaria helped me after to my feet and everyone was relieved to find me alright. Although I still felt a tingling burn on my side.

"Luckily Ahsoka managed to Force push that light saber away to only burn you a little," Obi Wan said.

I grinned at Ahsoka, offering a smile of gratitude.

"Claire."

Rex caught me in a massive rib-crushing hug and I winced.

"Thank the Force… You're alright," He muttered.

"I'm just glad you're safe," I replied.

"AWWWWW MAAANNN! That's so touching!" Soltaria began wailing fountains of tears, while Kit offered her a hanky.

"Thanks," She said, and blew her nose.

"What about Ventress?" I asked.

Rex jerked his head to Dooku, who was berating Ventress solemnly.

"I'm most disappointed in you. How could you try and force-choke me? Your Master and teacher?"

"Master… I had no idea! I thought you were brain-washed by the Jedi to trick me!"

"Enough of your nonsense! When this is over, you will be doubling your training and cleaning up the droids as punishment."

I glanced at Ahsoka, who shrugged. "Apparently, Dooku got his memories back."

And so, Bailey decided to drop by to assist Soltaria in preparing a portal (which was guaranteed safe by God himself, through SMS). It was a sad moment, but most of the characters were prepared to bid farewell.

"It was an honor fighting alongside with you, Soltaria," Obi Wan said.

Soltaria blushed. "Well, I errr… Wait a minute! Are you hitting on me?"

Ahsoka hugged me and we smiled. "It was nice meeting you, Claire."

"Same here," I grinned back.

Rex was the most reluctant to go, remaining silent throughout everything. It was then I remembered something important.

"Rex, take this."

I took out my gift to him from my pocket and placed it in his hand. He stared at the keychain with a feather and a four-leaf clover imprinted on the Silver Star on the other end. "What is this?" He asked.

"It's a good luck charm. Just something for you to remember me by."

Rex looked ready to tear up, his eyes softening as he gazed into mine.

"Claire…" I placed a finger on his lips and grinned mischievously.

"Ah, ah, ah! It's mine you know, so you'll have to give it back when we meet again."

"But Claire, I-"

I cut him off by planting a kiss on his lips, leaving Rex stunned when I pulled away from him. Almost everyone gawked at the scene.

"We'll meet again, I promise," I told him firmly.

With that, I turned away walking over to Soltaria.

"Claire!"

I turned around, only to be swept into a long and passionate kiss by Rex. My eyes widened in surprise, only to close slowly as we indulged into the kiss further.

"Oh come on! We gotta go already!" Bailey whined.

"Bailey, just shut up," Soltaria groaned.

"Hey! You ain't the boss of me!" Then, her phone rang and she picked it up to receive a message. "Sweet mother of God! You gotta be kidding me!"

"What?"

"I just got a message from God to Shut up and let them have their moment."

Soltaria guffawed. "Well, you heard the man. Now shut up."

Rex and I pulled away from each other and smiled lovingly.

"I love you."

I love you too."

After once last hug from everyone, I stood beside Soltaria and Bailey who opened a portal of swirling purple. The characters all jumped into the portal one by one. Rex, who stood at the entrance of the portal, turned to me with smile.

"I'll never forget you," He promised.

The clone captain put on his helmet, and dove into the portal. With a whiff, the portal closed and disappeared, along with the SW characters.

"Saaaaaay… what was that about you and Rex meeting again?" Soltaria asked.

I smiled to myself. "Just a secret between me and a guardian from another dimension."

"What?"

I walked away, heading for the van. "Come on, Soltaira. The van is not going to drive here on it's own!"

"Hey! Spill me the details, Claire-Bear!"

"That's t!" Bailey griped. "I'm going to transfer myself to another section of the Guardians and get a vacation!"

In a flash, Bailey poofed away and I was left with Soltaria chasing me from behind.

"Please? Just a tiny hint?" She begged.

"Sorry, no can do!"

"CLAAAAAAAAIIREEEEE!"

Yup, there's still hope for us to meet again. I'm sure of it!

#########

xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: And with that, I end this story! Hurray! Please review and look out for the sequel: Here we go again… SW style!

Soltaria: So will you and Rex get together? And if so, how are you guys going to do that?

Claire: For the last time, I'm not telling! You'll have to wait for the sequel.

Soltaria: Which will be when?"

xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: Give or take by the end of January or next month.

Soltaria: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO…! T^T

xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: I'm kidding! Sheesh! If I get inspiration, I can get it started early. But I got other work to do! Along with school coming up.

Soltaria: So how will you update?

Claire: knowing her, she'll do it bi-weekly or monthly.

Soltaria: Curse yoooooooooouuuu!

xXHiKaRu_ShIrOuXx: LoL. Please review! ^^


End file.
